


Puppy Love

by Kireizaki



Series: DEMI [5]
Category: Monster Girls | Monster Boys
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, Human/Monster Society, Romance, Transformation, Transgender, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 14:29:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21283238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kireizaki/pseuds/Kireizaki
Summary: A young student with a crush on her best friend is worried about how distant they've felt as of late. With a Valentines-esque holiday just around the corner, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to make them some chocolate, tell them how she feels and hopefully get them to open up about what's eating at them. When she accidentally uses an enchanted ingredient, she soon finds that the mishap might just be exactly what her best friend really needs.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: DEMI [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1431355
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story I originally wrote months ago, but stalled out before the ending because of real-life woes and only picked it back up recently. In the interim, I'd convinced myself it wasn't something I was fond of, but re-reading and editing it the other day, I think it might be one of the comfiest, sweetest things I've written about two adorable little dorks who just can't say what they really want to. I hope you all love it!

Airi Kiriyama was desperate for the page in front of her to fill itself in, hoping that if she stared at it hard enough, the math problem that was—as far as she was concerned—completely impossible might just vanish entirely. After an afternoon full of yelling about how ‘homework is just a big dumb scam!’, all her bluster had completely vanished. She’d resigned herself to the fact that, scam or no, she had to get it done before tomorrow.

This didn’t mean, of course, that she wasn’t open to being conveniently distracted from it, even if it only gave her a moment’s reprieve. So when her older sister Nonoka’s phone started ringing, her fluffy ears perked up instantly, and she dashed from the living room through to the kitchen to hand it to her as quickly as possible, noticing the sweet smell of chocolate in the air.

“Sis! Phone call! From uhh…’Lovey...Rose?’” her ears flattened themselves against her head in confusion. She briefly wished she was better when it came to any other languages, but swiftly abandoned that wish upon realizing just how much work she’d have to put in for that.

“La Vie en Rose,” her older sister replied, smiling softly at Airi. “It’s French for…” She paused, before giving up and answering the call without another word.

“Ahaha, looks like she doesn’t know either,” Nonoka’s fiancée, Yui Maihama giggled as she looked up from the bowl she was in the middle of mixing something in, before sweetly adding, “It’s a phrase about nostalgia, I believe. But really, I think they just thought it was a romantic sounding name.” She smiled sweetly, wiped off her glasses on a clean section of her apron, and got back to mixing.

She was tall for a human, with flowing, wavy hair that trailed down to the small of her back, wearing part of it in a sidetail held up by a barrette Nonoka had bought for her back in high school. No matter what the occasion, she always seemed to be dressed in strikingly fashionable outfits each and every day. Even now, as she prepared a surely delicious dessert for everyone in the house, she wore a stylish blouse and a long, flowing skirt beneath her apron, which bore an enchantment that ensured all of her clothes remained nothing short of pristine, essential for someone who spent as much time cooking as she did.

She was, in almost every way, the total physical opposite of Airi’s tough, boyish older sister Nonoka, a felis who was currently dressed in a pair of sweatpants that clung tightly to her full, incredibly toned thighs, as well as a tanktop that valiantly struggled to cover up her chest and practically nothing else, leaving her abs, still glistening with sweat from that afternoon’s trip to the gym, completely out for everyone to see. Her strong, well-built figure practically dwarfed Yui’s in just about every way. She’d always been remarkably tall. Growing up, Nonoka found she had a particular fondness for sports and exercise, playing basketball throughout high school and keeping up with it even now in the last couple of years of her time at college. She’d always kept her hair cut short, making sure that none of it would ever get in her way, but at Yui’s recent insistence, she’d grown it out just a little, letting it gently rest at her cheeks.

Were it not for their pale blue hair, their fluffy ears, and their striped tails, the much smaller, slimmer Airi would have bore little resemblance to her older sister. Despite this, Airi had always idolized Nonoka, and used every chance she could to take after her in all sorts of ways, working out alongside her and growing stronger and faster to the point where she’d become the star runner on her high school’s track team.

Still, nothing about her looked particularly tough, with her wide, amber eyes and naturally upbeat grin endearing her to just about everyone she met, with the scar beneath her left eye, the result of an unfortunate accident as a child, looking more charming on her than anything else.

“Ohhh! Is that the restaurant you two are always talking about?”

“Mmm, Nonoka’s idea! She wanted to take me somewhere extra special for Kaguya’s Day this year, so she’s been trying extra hard to lock down a reservation this year!”

“Wow! Ehehehe, you two have been trying to get a date there since we all moved in together, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” Yui sighed. “They’re always so booked up that we’ve never managed, even when we try to get a table when there’s nothing going. I don’t know how she did it, but it sounds like they’re confirming things now. She’s such a sweetheart when it comes to this sort of thing...”

Airi smiled to herself as she saw the lovey-dovey look in Yui’s eyes, a blush creeping into her face as she wondered if she looked the same way when she thought of a certain someone.

“Yeah!” Airi grinned, trying to force the thought out of her head. “Try to take pictures of whatever you order! Eiji and I’ll look at ‘em together!”

For as embarrassed as she was, though, she’d gotten better at hiding it than she used to be. At the least, she’d moved past the point where even the slightest thought of her crush would have her flying off to her room to bury her head in a pillow. Of course, she had to get better, otherwise she never would have been able to move in with Eiji when their sisters offered for them to stay at their new apartment after they’d gotten engaged. It took her awhile to say yes, but with how important each and every one of them were to each other, there was no way she ever could have said no.

Even if that meant sharing a room right down the hall from her regrettably oblivious crush and childhood friend.

“...Yeah. That’s right, should be under ‘Kiriyama,’ 6PM. Balcony seat still available?” Airi’s ears perked up at her sister’s conversation, which seemed to be close to wrapping up. “Cool, thanks. We’ll see you then. Have a nice day.”

“For the record,” Nonoka smiled, stepping behind her fiancée and wrapping her broad, well-muscled arms around her, before planting a kiss on her neck, “I’m always a sweetheart.”

“A sweaty one, too,” Yui smiled, returning the kiss happily.

“Mmm, but chocolate covers up the smell, so it’s all good, right?”

“Absolutely not,” Yui teased. “Take a shower before dinner, OK?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Nonoka agreed, a puff of air escaping her nostrils as her lips curled into an amused smile. “You too, got that, Airi? You’re just as sweaty as me.”

“But the chocolate-”

“Didn’t work for me, no way it’s working for you,” Nonoka chuckled, ruffling Airi’s pastel blue hair playfully. “Besides, what would Eiji think if he had to eat dinner right next to someone who smelled like that?”

“I bet he’d be super proud of me for getting all my homework done sooooo fast that I didn’t even have time to think about washing up.”

“Oh, sweetheart…” Yui smiled. “You’ve been friends with my little brother since the two of you were in diapers; you should know better than anyone that he hasn’t even thought about homework today. There are much better, much easier ways to impress him.”

“Yeah, but I just wanna get through to him! Lately he’s been kinda...withdrawn? Is that the word? Like he just kinda wants to spend all his time in his room…” Airi pouted.

“Well, he is at that age, y’know. Gotta be hard for Eiji, don’tcha think? The only boy in a house full of girls,” Nonoka said, smiling softly.

“N-n-n-n-n-no way, Sis!” Airi stammered, feeling so lightheaded that she could’ve collapsed right then and there, “That’s ridiculous! Eiji’s spent his whole life with us, there’s no way he’s thinking anything perverted!”

“Oh? Don’t recall mentioning anything perverted in the least…” she gently teased, before adding, “But, really, I’m sure it’s nothing. Just you wait and see, Eiji’ll be back to his usual upbeat self in no time.”

“I really hope so…” Airi mumbled, staring straight down at the ground.

“Back on topic, you do need to get your homework finished up tonight, got it?”

“I knoooow…” she pouted, her ears drooping straight down. “But I was...sorta hoping...y’know, since you two are…” she started to ramble, her voice growing fainter with each passing word.

“I can help you with your homework as soon as I’m done here.” Yui smiled pleasantly.

“Thank you so much, Yui! I love you!” Airi smiled, wrapping her arms around her sister’s fiancée in a warm hug, her tail standing up excitedly before dropping straight back down as she pulled herself away, “Ah! But wait, no, that’s not it!”

“You don’t want help?” Nonoka asked, incredulously.

“I do! I really, really do! But that’s not what I wanted to ask!”

“Ohhhh, I getcha.” Nonoka smiled knowingly, getting up from her stool and shutting the door to the kitchen. “You wanna make plans for Kaguya’s with Eiji, huh?”

Airi shyly nodded, staring straight down at the ground.

“Feeling bold this year?” Nonoka asked. “Last year didn’t work out so hot, so I figured you’d wanna just let the day pass you by.”

“It didn’t…”

Airi grimaced, recalling a small heap of chocolate she’d bought for her crush last year. She also recalled the intense tummy ache she dealt with when she ate it all alone in her room that evening after she’d gotten too worked up to even begin to confess, and the couples’ movie tickets she’d ended up giving away to a classmate for the very same reason.

“But I’m gonna do my best this time! It’ll go great!

Just...y’know, when I can figure out what I actually want to do…”

“Why not keep things simple?” Yui asked. “You and Eiji are pretty comfortable just relaxing here at home together, right?”

“We are…” Airi nodded, still feeling intensely shy.

“So, I think having a special day here should work out wonderfully! You’d both be in your element, so there’s less getting in your way that could make things difficult for either of you.”

“Yeah, that sounds good, but...y’know, what do I actually do to make things special? If we just hang out here, we’ll just end up binging anime or a game or something…”

“Nothin’ wrong with that…” Nonoka smiled. “Sharing those simple moments is special too, but why don’t you take a page out of Yui’s book? Make him some chocolate. Traditional, I know, but you can bet that Eiji’d love it.”

Airi knew the two older girls were onto something. Eiji adored all manner of sweets and desserts, and pretty much always seemed to be snacking away on something. There was a major flaw in their plan though.

“No way! I can’t...I can’t bake or cook or...or make sweets or anything! That’s Yui and Eiji’s thing…”

“It’s OK! It won’t be hard at all!” Yui smiled. “Nonoka can pick something up from the store on her way home from the gym tomorrow, and you can just melt it down and reshape it into something romantic. Maybe some cute little hearts or something.”

Yui giggled as she noticed Airi blushing furiously at the idea, but continued nonetheless.

“I’ll even leave you instructions! Just tell Eiji the kitchen’s off-limits during the afternoon tomorrow so that he doesn’t barge in on you by mistake, ahaha.”

“B-but…” Airi stammered, feeling her nerves beginning to creep up on her.

“C’mon, Sis.” Nonoka smiled, wrapping Airi up in a warm, loving hug. “You’ve got this. You’ll do so, so well. You’ll have the whole night to yourselves, too. Yui and I have been rooting for the two of you for so damn long now. We just know you two are gonna be great together.”

“Mhm! I know how scary this stuff can be. Gosh, I was scared when I first confessed to Nonoka! But can you imagine how sad it would’ve been if I hadn’t? Gosh, there’s no way the four of us would be living in the same house…” she said, grimacing at the very idea of not being with the people she loved the most in the world. “So, like you said, you’ll do your best. We know you will, because you’re Airi Kiriyama, and there’s no way my little brother would ever turn his back on you.”

Yui smiled, joining in and hugging her fiancée’s sister tightly.

“Jeez, you two are really twisting my arm…” she joked, holding back a happy sob.

“Just giving you a little push, that’s all,” Nonoka said softly. “Now take a shower, dummy,” she teased, breaking off from the hug.

“Fiiiiiine,” Airi replied, putting on an exaggerated pout, before heading toward the kitchen door and grinning back at the two older girls. “Thank you both so much! I’ve got this!”

“Yeah, you do!” Nonoka smiled. “I’ll leave the chocolate I pick up at the back of the sweets cabinet, OK? Gonna make sure to get you something really high-end.”

“Got it, Sis!”

Airi saluted cutely before rushing upstairs toward the bathroom, stopping for a moment outside Eiji’s bedroom and smiling softly to herself, then quickly putting herself back on track and heading into the bathroom, ready to face the next day head-on.

~~~

Eiji Maihama happily chomped on the melon bread he’d purchased on the way home from school while his best friend Airi excitedly told him something he could only half pay attention to. He felt incredibly rude about it, but with how excited he was to dig into the treat he’d saved for today, there was little else he could really focus on at the moment.

“...Got it, Eiji? Gonna be busy with something super private alllll afternoon, so no using the kitchen until I’m finished! That’s OK, right?” Airi asked, with a smile.

“Uh-huh!” he responded enthusiastically, before taking another big bite of his bread, doing his best not to let on just how distracted he’d actually been. Thankfully, Airi didn’t seem to notice. Likely, it was because she herself was so worked up about her plans for the evening that she could hardly sit still, not that Eiji had any way of knowing that. Kaguya’s Day was something he only really paid attention to because of all the stores that would sell limited edition chocolate in the weeks leading up to it, so the idea of actually planning anything particularly special for it was completely lost on him. Not that he hadn’t thought about it before, of course. The nervous excitement all the girls he lived with felt as the day grew closer was always at least a little infectious, but the idea of actually approaching any of them about possibly doing something together for the day scared him a great deal.

For as close as he was with each of them, he’d admittedly had a surprisingly difficult time working up the nerve to actually spend time in their company. Something about being the only boy in the house had him convinced that, on some level, he was and always would be an outsider who was just butting into their space, fundamentally incapable of connecting with all of them the way they did with each other. The girls, of course, didn’t feel this way about Eiji in the slightest, but there was no way they could know just how deep his insecurities ran, so it was practically impossible to do much of anything that might help him. And so, as the years they’d spent living together went on, they’d gone from being practically inseparable, to Eiji feeling like a guest in his own house, convinced that the people he loved the most in the world were, at best, putting up with his presence.

Still, for that layer of sadness, which he hastily shook away, even if his own plans were somewhat lonely, they still excited him a great deal. Sweets always managed to set his mind at ease, after all.

“You’re fired up today, huh Airi?”

“F-fired up?! Me?! I mean...ahaha, you know me!” she awkwardly laughed. “I’m always giving everything 100%! Just gotta keep on pushing through!” She grinned, extremely pleased that Eiji had absolutely no idea just how shaky she felt. For as much as she’d always loved him, he could be remarkably oblivious more often than not, so hiding that sort of thing was hardly a difficult task for her.

“No but it’s like...hmm…” Eiji pondered what he was trying to say, before smiling and adding, “Like you went above 100%! Gosh, is that even possible…?” he wondered, seriously considered the logistics of his words, before giving up completely, simply content to say, “It’s possible for you, I guess! You’re Ultra Airi!”

Airi froze, completely taken aback by Eiji’s distinctly...Eiji compliment. Regardless of how strangely it was delivered, it was more than enough to catch the poor girl completely off-guard, painting her cheeks bright red in embarrassment. “‘Ultra’…ehehe…” she giggled, not noticing that Eiji had continued to walk ahead of her, completely oblivious to the fact that she’d stopped at all.

“Ah! Eiji, wait uuuuup!” she cried out as she regained her composure, dashing after Eiji when she realized just how far ahead of her he’d gotten.

It took her no time at all to close the gap between them, and she adjusted her pace to better suit his as the two of them continued their way home. Airi was desperate to find something to keep her mind occupied, to think about anything that wasn’t how nervous she was about her upcoming plans.

“Yui and Nonoka are heading out for the night, yeah?” Eiji asked, finishing up the last few bites of his bread.

“Uh-huh! Got a booking at that Rose place they’ve been really excited about! Think they said they wanted to do some shopping, too, so they might’ve already left!”

“Ah! But...but that means...Sis probably hasn’t prepared anything...so there’s no dinner…” Eiji mumbled, his arms dropping glumly to his sides. “I guess I can cook…” he added with a heavy, resigned sigh. Having spent his whole life cooking with his big sister, Eiji was a remarkably capable chef in his own right, but he’d always felt like his own talents paled in comparison to Yui’s, baselessly worrying that any meal he might prepare would be a poor consolation for her own dishes.

“No cooking tonight! Kitchen’s off limits, remember?”

Eiji’s ears perked up at that. Had she told him something like that? He couldn’t think of any reason why he wouldn’t be allowed in… Maybe Yui had some dessert cooling in there that she didn’t want anyone to ruin, that had to be it. That’s fine, Eiji told himself, he only needed to go in there for a second. There was no way that could ruin anything. Besides, he couldn’t just...cancel his plans for the day. They were far too important for that.

“We’re ordering in! Sis and Yui gave us more than enough money to order something really tasty! I bet we’ll even get to have dessert, too!” Airi giggled, patting him on the back before swiftly pulling her hand away and blushing furiously, intensely embarrassed by how chummy she was being with the person she loved, even if they were best friends. Still, with how cute Eiji got whenever he thought about food, it was hard to resist the temptation to just hug and squeeze him right then and there.

“Oh! That’s OK then!” Eiji smiled, the thought of dessert immediately wiping away any worries he might have had.

“Yeah, and afterwards, I was thinking we could watch a movie or something! Or maybe play a game together!”

“Mmm, maybe!” Eiji smiled, keeping his answer noncommittal as they reached their house. He really did want to spend time with Airi if he could, but a small part of him still worried he’d be nothing but a bother, that it’d be better if he just spent the whole day in his room. “I’ve got some stuff to take care of first though, OK? So ask me again later!”

Airi froze at that.

“Jeez, Eiji...” she whispered as Eiji opened the door and stepped inside. “When are you ever not gonna be too busy to spend time with us…?” With a wistful sigh, she followed behind him, shutting the front door as she entered. If something was getting him down, she was going to do her best to clear it up today. She just had to.

“Oh! You two got home a little earlier than expected!” Yui smiled. “Did you have a good day at school?”

“Hey sis,” Eiji smiled softly, waving at his older sister before sitting down to take off his shoes. “Yeah, went pretty good! Airi’s extra fired up today, for some reason.”

“Ahaha, is that so?”

“I-I am not! Not at all!” Airi stammered. “Just perfectly normal, not-ultra-at-all-Airi!”

“Hm? ‘Ultra’…?”

“N-nothing! You must’ve been hearing things, ahahaha!”

“Nope,” the gruff voice of Nonoka called out, as she headed through to the entrance to meet everyone, “You definitely said something about being…’Ultra Airi?’”

“I totally didn’t, Sis! I said ‘not-ultra-at-all Ai’-” Airi froze, staring at her sister with a wide-eyed expression of utter disbelief. “Is that...a dress?”

“Y-yeah, so what?” Nonoka asked, doing a terrible job of hiding the blush that was creeping into her normally stoic expression, clutching the hem of her dress as tightly as possible.

“You own a dress, Nonoka?” Eiji asked, just as baffled as Airi was.

“I own a few of them, dammit!” she yelled out, craning her neck far, far too much to try and avoid meeting anybody’s gaze. “I just don’t wear ‘em because you can’t work out in them! That’s it, got it? I-I wanted to do something special for Kaguya’s Day!” she continued, her sudden embarrassment making the resemblance between her and her sister far, far more apparent.

“She actually does own a few!” Yui smiled, hugging her fiancée warmly. “I picked most of them out, but this one…” She paused, looking over the surprisingly showy dress Nonoka had slipped into, incredibly pleased with just how much thigh she was showing off. “She bought this one herself! And she looks amazing, too.” Stretching up and standing on her tiptoes, she gave Nonoka a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Yeah…” Nonoka let out a heavy sigh. “You look incredible too, Yui.”

“Oh! But we need to get going, we have some things to take care of before dinner. I already told Airi, but there’s money for you in the living room. Order something nice, OK?”

“Mmm, yeah. Airi mentioned that to me. Thanks you two!” Eiji replied, before quickly turning and heading to his room. “Have a good time. Take pictures of the food,” he called out flatly, not even waiting for a reply before shutting the door.

“Jeez…” Airi pouted. “I hope he’s OK…”

“Like I said,” Nonoka started, slipping on a coat she’d left by the front door, “he’s at that age.”

“Sis!” Airi shouted, blushing furiously.

“Chocolate’s where I told you it’d be. Good luck,” Nonoka smiled, as she opened up the door.

“You’ll do wonderfully, Airi!” Yui gave her a quick hug, before following Nonoka outside. “We won’t be back too late!”

“Y-yeah, bye!” Airi replied, trying her best to calm down and regain her composure as the two of them shut the door behind them, heading off for their date.

“Gah! No time to get embarrassed! Gotta get started!”

~~~

As Airi prepped a small workstation for herself in the kitchen, she re-read the message Yui had sent her earlier in the day with instructions on how to prepare what she called “_Amazing chocolates that are sure to win over Eiji’s heart!_” The message bore every ounce of Yui’s usual sweetness, but did absolutely nothing to help Airi get into the calm headspace it constantly reminded her she had to be in if she wanted the cooking to go smoothly.

“_Remember,_” the P.S. at the end of the message began, “_the chocolate Nonoka picked up is in the back of the cabinet next to the sink! She chose an extra-special limited run just for Kaguya’s Day, so your chocolates are sure to turn out wonderfully! Nonoka and I are rooting for you! I’m sure we’ll come home to you two being all sorts of lovey-dovey toge-_”

“Ahhhh, Yui! Are you and Sis trying to kill me?!” Airi yelled, hastily shoving her phone in her pocket, before looking around the room to try and take her mind off of her embarrassment. With one last shake of her head and a sigh, she set off to get started.

“Let’s see, the chocolate should be…”

She moved over to the cabinet Yui had told her to search, opening it up and grinning at the bag that lay inside as she pulled it out, seeing it full of a type of chocolate she’d always wanted to try, but always felt too guilty to buy for herself.

“Wow, this is some seriously pricey stuff...oh, there’s another bar in the back!” she exclaimed, getting on her tiptoes to reach into the back of the cabinet and pulling out a rather largish bar with a regal, purple-and-gold wrapper.

“Wow! You got two different kinds, Sis?! You two really pulled out all the stops, huh?” Airi asked, her eyes far more drawn to the large, single bar than the ones in the bag.

“Oh gosh, this one looks super good! Let’s see…’Daydream Chocolate?’ I’ve never heard of that before… Uhm... ‘A collaboration between Dream Puff Bakery—’oh, that’s that one place Yui really likes—’and Linth’s Finest: Sundries Sold and Services Rendered, this magical, smooth, creamy chocolate bar is perfect to share with the person dearest to you, bringing the two of you closer than the elegant blend of milk and white chocolate with soothing herbs and spices in this exclusive, seasonal bar.’ G-gosh, that sounds kinda...almost a little erotic, don’t ya think?”

Shaking away as much of her embarrassment as she could, she was somewhat surprised to see that the chocolate’s packaging already seemed to be open, with a couple of small pieces missing from the bar.

“Huh…” she hummed, her ears drooping slightly in confusion before perking right back up. “Must’ve been Yui! Ahaha, bet she was so excited to see something from that bakery that she just couldn’t hold back!” Airi grinned, before pulling off a small piece for herself. “Well, I wanna try some too! It’s such a big bar, anyway, a couple of pieces shouldn’t be a problem!” she declared, popping the piece into her mouth, letting out a small squeal of delight almost immediately.

“It’s so gooooood! Gosh, Eiji’s gonna love this so much!”

Satisfied with her sister’s purchase, she moved onto the bag filled with another limited bar, giving it a taste test as well and happily noting that it, too, was absolutely delicious.

“Oh wow! I bet these’ll mix super well! Good thinking, Sis! Now let’s see...gotta use the, uhhh, the double boiler? Yeah, that sounds right!”

Though she was undoubtedly still nervous, Airi was fired up enough by now to really warrant the bizarre “Ultra Airi” moniker she’d been given earlier that day, and which she was still deeply in love with. She knew that her lack of any real cooking experience might make things harder for her, but it was a hurdle she was determined to clear. She’d told herself that today was the day she’d finally make her feelings clear, and if this was the biggest challenge she’d face, she was more than ready to go for it.

“Ehehe, Eiji’ll be so happy when he tastes these! He’s such a dork when he eats sweets, wearing a huge smile every time he takes a bite of something yummy.”

Airi giggled at the thought. No matter how much she called him a dork for it, though, she couldn’t deny how adorable she found it when Eiji was satisfied.

“He’s almost like a puppy, ehehe… I can totally see him letting out those cute, happy little whines, too! He’d look so cute with a pair of fluffy little ears, and a cute tail wagging up a storm behind him…”

Her voice trailed off as a daydream began to form in her mind. She could picture it so clearly: a cute, somewhat chubby canis girl holding up her hands like paws, giddily taking sweets from Airi and snuggling up close to her, excitedly telling Airi just how much she loved her, and letting out blissful sighs as Airi scratched her soft, fluffy ears. Her tail wagging happily as she leaned up to kiss Airi deeply, slowly moving a hand up to her chest and-

“Wait wait wait wait!!!!” she cried out, her ears and tail pointing straight up as she barely even considered just how loud she was being. “Why do these always turn out this way? Every time I have a daydream, Eiji’s...a girl, and things start getting pervy... A-am I really that into girls? That can’t be right, can it? Eiji’s a boy, and I l-l-love him more than anyone else…” she muttered, her tail fidgeting nervously behind her.

“B-but if Eiji was a girl, y’know...she’d be cute too...”

Airi’s voice grew softer and softer until it barely even qualified as a whisper, her ears drooping as low as they possibly could.

“A-and the girl in that daydream… Gosh, that was Eiji, I guess. She was adorable, s-so maybe it’s just my head reminding me that Eiji’s cute, no matter what! Yeah! That’s gotta be it!”

Satisfied with the reason she’d made up for herself, Airi quickly set about laying everything out before she could distracted again, placing the double boiler on the stove before-

“Ah! You’re cooking, Airi? Cool!”

As Eiji’s voice called out from the kitchen door, Airi flailed about to try and cover things up, standing in front of the stove. She very quickly realized the flaw in her plan, seeing the chocolate laid out in plain sight on the counter in front of her.

“Ooh, you’re making sweets? That’s really cool, Airi! I’m proud of you,” Eiji said, with a gentle smile.

“N-no way! Not cooking a thing, nope! Ahahaha! You’re seeing things, Eiji!” Airi’s yelled, wincing at the feeling of her tail trying to straighten out behind her in shock, only to knock firmly against the kitchen counter with a loud thump.

“I...don’t think I am?” Eiji paused, genuinely believing, for a moment, that he might have just dreamed up the scene in front of him. After all, Airi never used the kitchen.

“Goooootta be seeing things, Eiji! After all, I told you you couldn’t use the kitchen, right? And you’re a good...good boy…” she winced at her choice of words, but continued in her lie that could barely even be considered half-baked, “so you’re definitely still in your room doing whatever it was you were doing in your room.”

Eiji smiled, caught up in whatever strange fantasy Airi was playing at, almost to the point of believing every word of it. “Ohhhh, maybe it’s like an astral projection sorta thing! My mind just knew that you were doing something like this and left my body to help you out!”

“Nope! That’s definitely not possible, Eiji! I...think? Is it possible?” Airi had wanted to kick Eiji out right then and there, but she found the question sticking in her mind far more than she’d have expected it to, her ears twitching as she pondered it to a silly degree.

“It is! I came here in spirit to spy on you because...because…Oooh, you were about to have some of my chocolate, weren’t you?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as he headed over to the counter and picking up the bar that was still mostly covered in that elegant purple and gold wrapping. “Gotta ask me before you take this stuff, Airi! This one’s super special, after all!”

“Your chocolate?” Airi asked. “I-I mean, in a sense, sure, but y’know…” Airi trailed off, nervously wondering if Eiji had somehow caught wind of what she’d been preparing for him, before realizing that she was letting on far more than she wanted to. “N-no way, Eiji! These are from Sis and Yui! See, they’re from that bakery she likes and everything!” she declared, pointing at the description on the wrapper.

“Yeah, Dream Puff!” he grinned, pulling out a piece and popping it into his mouth, letting out a sigh of total satisfaction at the taste. He looked Airi in the eyes as he spoke, wearing a more upbeat expression than she’d seen on him in weeks.

“I bought these the other day, y’know? They’re a limited run! Super yummy, too! Really…really…”

Suddenly, Eiji’s smile began to fade, a confused, almost sleepy expression taking its place as a strange fog began to cloud his thoughts, his grip on the chocolate bar in his hand loosening until it tumbled out of his hand and landed back on the counter.

“Eiji?! Are you...are you…?” Airi put her hands on Eiji’s shoulders, trying to shake him out of his sudden fugue when the same fog that ground Eiji’s thoughts to a halt suddenly affected her in turn. For a moment, the two of them were practically frozen, their gaze firmly fixed on each other’s eyes. It was bizarre. For as blank as their minds were, for the briefest second it felt as if they were staring right into each other’s souls, seeing each other more clearly than they ever had before.

It was then that focus returned to them both, pulling them out of their sudden, shared trance.

“Oof, you OK, Eiji?” Airi asked, panting heavily as she braced against a counter for support, as Eiji did the same alongside her.

He had only barely caught the tail end of her question, though, somehow feeling as if his hearing had all but vanished for a moment, before returning to an almost remarkably amplified degree.

“What...what was that, Airi?” he asked, finally feeling steady enough to stand up on his own.

“I...I just…”

Feeling as though she’d caught her breath after running a marathon, Airi picked herself up off the counter as well, turning and facing Eiji right as he went to pick up the chocolate he’d dropped earlier. “Just wanted to know if you were feeling better, that’s all!” She smiled cheerfully, glad that things seemed to be back to normal.

“Yup, I think so! Just got kinda dizzy, I think,” Eiji said, facing her once more.

Despite his reassurance, however, Airi’s expression looked anything but relieved.

“Ei-Eiji…?”

“Yeah? Something wrong, Airi?”

How could she possibly tell him what she was seeing? There was no way she’d believe him, not in the least. It had to be some weird dream, it just had to.

She knew, without a doubt, that there was no way Eiji had ever had a pair of adorably fluffy doglike ears on his head, after all.

“N-no! Nothing’s wrong, not at all! I just, ummm…” she paused, still completely hung up on what she could say.

“You’re getting kinda spacy, Airi. You sure everything’s alright? Your ears are even flattening out! You’re no good at hiding when you’re sad, y’know?” Eiji asked, completely oblivious to the fact that his own ears were doing the exact same thing.

“Oooh, I think you’re definitely still seeing things, Eiji!” she laughed, doing everything she could to will her ears to stand back up, to no avail.

“No way. I know we both got kinda...dizzy or whatever, but we’re both fine now!”

“It-it’s just...well…”

“What’s up?” Eiji asked, his ears sticking straight back up as his curiosity grew.

“I...I’ve just gotta know if those are really there!” Airi cried out, before reaching out and shyly, shakily poking at one of the ears.

The ear twitched, and Eiji let out a cute, high-pitched whine of surprise.

“H-hey, what was that for?” Eiji frowned, instinctively clamping his hands on top of his head, only to be met with the same ears Airi had been completely baffled by all along. “What...what the heck?!”

“They’re real!” Airi yelled. “You’ve really got puppy ears! Like a canis!”

Moving one of Eiji’s hands away, she poked at it again, watching it react the exact same way it had the first time.

“Stop iiiiit!”

Eiji covered up his new ears once more, frustrated with Airi’s poking and prodding.

“You must’ve slipped some weird...I dunno, some sorta magical cosplay thing on me while I was all dizzy!”

“Are those even a real thing?”

“I dunno, but there’s no way these ears are! They just...they can’t be, right?” he protested. They felt incredibly real, but that just couldn’t be possible, could it?

“Go take a look in the mirror, Eiji! They’re there!” she yelled, almost annoyed that Eiji seemed to be denying the very thing she’d worked so hard to deny herself just a moment earlier. What she didn’t yell out, however, was that, really, she thought they looked cute.

“Y-yeah! I’ll check the mirror a-and that’ll show me they’re not really there!” he declared, rushing out of the kitchen and heading toward the mirror in the entrance hall, with Airi close behind. He felt strangely uncomfortable as he moved, his clothes beginning to feel tight and cramped, but he chalked that up to a symptom of his current confusion. Besides, by the time he’d reached the mirror and stared up at the undeniably fluffy, pointed ears on the top of his head, noticing the conspicuous absence of the human ears he was absolutely certain he’d possessed earlier in the day, he was too preoccupied to care about anything else.

“They’re real, Airi!” Eiji yelled, running his fingers across the soft fur that covered them, equal parts baffled by their existence and completely in love with how fluffy and cuddly they felt. That same tight sensation that had bothered him earlier only continued to build, most notably around his butt, but he was still far more focused on playing with his ears. Even if he wasn’t, it’s not like he could take off his pants in front of Airi.

“E-Eiji?” Airi stammered, noticing yet another thing that, had the ears not proven to be extremely real, she would have doubted the existence of.

“They’re...they’re kinda cute, too!” he shouted, completely oblivious to Airi’s attempts to talk to him, or just how obvious the thing that concerned Airi was making his happiness.

“Eiji…”

“Even if they shouldn’t be there, isn’t this kinda nice, Airi? They’re kinda fun to pet, ehehe…”

“Eiji! Listen to me!”

“What’s up?” he asked, not once looking away from the mirror.

“Y-you’ve got a tail, Eiji!” she yelled, pointing at the similarly fluffy, adorable-looking tail poking out just above his waistband, its happy wagging grinding to a clean halt once she’d finally caught his attention.

“H-how the heck?!” Eiji stammered, turning around and looking over his shoulder to see his tail reflection in the mirror. Extremely shyly, he reached down and wrapped his hand around it, giving it a slight tug and confirming that yes, this was real too. Very real.

“The same way you got the ears, Eiji! I dunno! Maybe it was that-”

Airi couldn’t finish that sentence, as both her and Eiji’s thoughts ground to a halt. This time, they weren’t caught off guard by any strange trance, but instead, the very, very loud sound of fabric tearing by his backside. His pants and underwear split cleanly down the middle, exposing a pale, round, and perfectly plump butt to the both of them.

“E-Eiji…”

“Y-yeah Airi?”

“Your...your butt got..all big…” she muttered, too confused to get nearly as embarrassed as she would have if she’d seen Eiji’s butt absolutely any other time.

“I...I can see that…” he replied, too nervous to touch it.

“S-so I...I was gonna say-”

“How’s any of this real?!” Eiji suddenly yelled, cutting Airi off once more.

“I-it’s only a guess, but-”

“Yeah?!”

“M-maybe it was the chocolate?!” she cried, hoping that the only real explanation she could think of was correct. “I mean, we did get all dizzy after you tried some, so maybe that was some...I dunno, some magic or something!”

“C’mon, Airi! That’s not possible!” Eiji argued, his voice starting to sound strangely light, almost airy. “Sweets never make me put on weight, and even if they did, I only had one piece! There’s no way a single piece could...could…”

As he yelled, he reached his hands toward his butt, giving both cheeks a squeeze to confirm that they weren’t both just dreaming, and only managing to make both the reality, and his fingers, really sink in.

“How much sugar did they put in there?!”

His cry came out as more of a frustrated whine than anything as he took in just how strange and soft his butt now felt, feeling its pleasant weight fill his hands.

“They said it was magical on the wrapper! It’s gotta be some magic thing!”

“But then why aren’t-” Eiji’s voice raised to a squeak as his throat locked up. Clearing it as quickly as he could, he attempted to finish his earlier thought “Why aren’t you changing?” he asked, in a voice that was, unmistakably, nothing like his own. “Huh? My voice too?!”

Airi almost fainted where she stood. Whatever was happening to Eiji was strange, to put it as lightly as possible, but she couldn’t deny that, so far, she’d actually thought all of the results had only served to make Eiji cuter.

It was the voice though, the sweet, airy, incredibly cute and extremely flustered voice he now possessed that drove her close to the edge.

Airi struggled more than anyone could possibly know to fight the urge to wrap Eiji up in a hug and yell, “You’re so cuuuuuuuute!”

It was a _very_ strong urge.

“My voice sounds all…” Eiji paused, trying to find the word. “Y’know, like ummmmm…” as he did, his cheeks gradually painted themselves redder and redder. He knew exactly what he wanted to say now, it was just a matter of fighting through his embarrassment to actually say it.

“It’s really cute…” Eiji mumbled, only serving to make it sound even cuter than it already did.

That pushed Airi’s urge completely over the edge.

“It is! Eiji, it’s adorable! It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard!”

“J-jeez, Airi…”

Eiji’s blush deepened. He’d received plenty of compliments from Airi, Yui, and Nonoka over the years, but none of them had ever made him this happy…

“It’s super, super sweet! I just...I really, really love it, Eiji! The ears are cute, too! And so is the tail!”

_And your butt..._

She kept that last thought entirely to herself.

“Ehehe…” Eiji giggled, turning back to face the mirror. “I-It’s a girl’s voice, isn’t it? But...if you like it…” he mumbled, putting a hand up to one of his fluffy ears. “A-and the rest is cute too! Like these...eyes?”

“Ahaha, Eiji, you dummy! Those are your ears!” Airi laughed somewhat teasingly, still thoroughly taken by how cute literally every word Eiji was saying sounded.

“No Airi, look!”

It was his turn to pull Airi back to attention this time, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her toward the mirror, pointing right at his reflection.

“My eyes are all different, too!”

His eyes, once an unusual shade of grey, had lightened in color to a sweet, chocolatey brown. The color, however, was the least notable thing about them right now. Instead, both of them were squarely focused on his pupils, which had shifted into an adorable vertical slit.

“Th-they are! Oh gosh, Eiji! It’s like you’re...you’re really turning into a canis, Eiji!”

“B-but shouldn’t you be changing, too?!” he asked again, still feeling strangely...restricted in his clothes. Both of them also failed to notice just how much softer and smoother his complexion had become, devoid of almost all trace of his usual body hair.

“I-I dunno! Maybe it only works on humans?”

“A-and it’s not just turning me into a canis, Airi…” Eiji pouted, his lips puffing up ever so slightly and making his expression look particularly frustrated. “It’s turning me into a girl, too!”

“No it isn’t, Eiji, that’s...that’s…”

Her gut response to deny it was swiftly stomped out as she both considered Eiji’s adorable new voice and his gentler, rapidly changing features, watching as his cheeks puffed out slightly, looking rounder and softer while his nose took on a cute, upturned point, and his eyelashes thickened and grew out. With each piece that shifted, Eiji’s face looked both completely unlike the one she’d seen every day for years, yet strangely familiar to Airi, but she was far too taken aback to think about why that might be right now.

“You’re right, Eiji! Oh gosh, oh gosh!” she cried, trying to hide the hint of excitement in her voice. “A-are you gonna be OK? You’re OK, right?!”

“I think I- Guh...”

He scratched at his head, trying to rid it of the sudden itch he could feel creeping up, getting more distracting by the second,

“I think I’m...fine with that, Airi?”

His tone was confused. He realized that, deep down, he was giving voice to something he’d suppressed for far too long, but even so, he wasn’t quite sure if this was right, admitting it so casually.

Then again, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that “casual” absolutely wasn’t something he could use to describe the current situation, scratching at hair that he could see growing out at a remarkable rate.

“You...you are?”

“Yeah, it’s kinda hard to focus right now, ahaha…” he laughed before continuing, watching as his hair stopped just as it reached the length of a surprisingly cute bob. “S-so maybe let me explain later, OK? But yeah, maybe...maybe I don’t mind any of this…”

Eiji smiled softly, admiring their new hairstyle happily.

“F-for now, maybe let’s...let’s say I’m a girl, OK? I-it might be fun, y’know?” she mumbled, shyly dancing around the real reason she was so happy.

Airi wasn’t quite sure what to make of what Eiji had just said. It was a surprising request, to say the least, but said with so much sincerity and warmth that Airi just knew there had to be a lot more to it than Eiji was letting on. She was sure that, once this strange transformation had run its course and the dust had settled, she’d find out exactly where Eiji’s request had come from, but she knew that even if she didn’t, she had no intention of prying. If it bought Eiji any degree of happiness, she was all too willing to help the person she loved.

“Y-yeah!” Airi smiled, putting a hand on Eiji’s shoulder. “Of course, Eiji. I’m here for you no matter what, got that?”

“Ahaha! I know you are, Airi,” Eiji smiled back, her expression so boundlessly happy that it was as if whatever had been eating at her for so long had almost entirely vanished.

“Besides, you make a...y’know…”

She squirmed shyly as the words caught in her throat, but she had to let them out. She just knew Eiji would appreciate them now.

“Y-you’re a really c-c-c-cute girl, Eiji!”

Doing her best to comfort Eiji, Airi forced out a compliment. She had meant every single word of it, of course, but actually telling her crush that she found her cute was endlessly embarrassing.

“Your hair’s really pretty now! The color got all light, too, like...ummm…”

“Hot cocoa!” Eiji beamed. “Same color as my eyes now! Hot cocoa after the marshmallows have melted, ehehe…”

_How are you so friggin cuuuuuuuuute?!_

Despite Airi’s embarrassment reaching a fever pitch, Eiji’s endless optimism returning in full force did wonders to calm both of them down, both girls practically collapsing into a fit of giggles after a brief silence.

“Jeez, Eiji. Of course you’d say that…” Airi grinned, wiping a small tear from her eye.

“Huh? But it’s true, isn’t it?” she asked, completely incredulous to the idea that anything might have been even the slightest bit wrong with her description.

“It looks just like-ohhhh gosh…”

Her thoughts, however, were brought to a very sudden halt once more, this time by an odd feeling of dizziness that engulfed her entire being. Airi rushed to catch her, right as she started teetering on the spot.

“Eiji! Are you OK?!” she yelled, holding her crush tightly, her embarrassment held off completely by her worry over her friend’s condition. Despite that, however, she couldn’t help but notice just how...soft she felt in her arms.

_Wait a second...was Eiji always so...short?_

Eiji had been just as tall as her not a minute ago, she was sure of that, but now the girl in her arms was well below Airi’s height, the tips of her fluffy ears just barely tickling her chin, letting her know exactly what had just happened to her crush.

“I’m alright, just got dizzy…” she groaned, her eyes gently fluttering open as she picked herself back up out of Airi’s arms. “Ohhhh gosh, Airi,” she yelled, looking around her surroundings excitedly, “everything got so big! Even you look all big, Airi!”

“N-no...Eiji that’s...that’s not it,” she muttered, somehow not surprised in the least by Eiji’s assumption that the entire world had suddenly grown. “You just...you shrank, Eiji.”

“I know!” she cried out, wearing the giddiest smile in the world as she flapped the loose sleeves of her shirt wildly. “Isn’t it amazing?! Look, my clothes are all baggy! Ehehe, I’m cute and short! Cute and short~!”

Her clothes certainly were baggy, but only in a sense. While everything was a little too long for her, and her shoulders seemed far less broad than before, her shirt now seemed to be straining slightly at her waist, and her pants, made for a much taller frame than her own, were tightly hugging an adorably full butt and hips, all of her clothes squeezing against a body that was turning softer by the second. Airi, however, was too preoccupied by just how incredible she’d felt to hold to even begin to broach the idea of telling Eiji, worried that her excitement would be far too clear if she said it out loud.

“Y-yeah! It’s really amazing! Gosh, you’re changing so much, Eiji!”

“I am! It’s so nice, ehehe!” Eiji enthusiastically nodded, rolling up her sleeves and giggling in delight at hands that were just as cute and soft as the rest of her. “Ohhhhh! Look! They’re all different too! My nails grew out and everything! Pretty, right?” she cried, holding them up for Airi to see, who wholeheartedly agreed with her, noting that they led to much fuller, softer looking arms than Eiji had ever possessed.

“Ahaha, yeah!”

Airi smiled, pleased by how just about all of Eiji’s embarrassment seemed to have flown out of the window. It had been so long since she’d seen Eiji like this, wearing such an unreserved smile, that Airi couldn’t feel anything but incredible as she stood by her side.

Despite Eiji’s giddiness, however, there was something worrying that had been welling up all this time that she couldn’t afford to ignore any longer. Her pants, already torn by her far more prominent, rounded butt, were becoming unbearably tight.

“Oh...oh gosh…” Eiji mumbled, looking down to see her wide, cushy hips struggling valiantly against her pants, which put up an impressive fight to stay on at all costs. “...Big hips are really nice, right Airi?” she asked.

“W-wha?!” Airi gasped, her face turning beet red at the question, finding it impossible to not take a glance at Eiji’s hips now that attention had been called to them. On that look alone, however, she’d wholeheartedly agree with what she’d just been asked. Though Airi was no slouch in that department, Eiji definitely had her beat.

“What’re you asking me for, Eiji?! I-I guess they are, but I don’t think about ‘em! Not ever! Barely even know what they are!” she yelled, getting increasingly flustered, before noticing just how shaky Eiji was getting with every word Airi spoke. Desperate to calm herself down as she realized what was bothering Eiji so deeply, Airi took a deep breath, then spoke once more.

“Eiji, wanna know something?”

Eiji softly nodded.

“You don’t need anyone to ever, ever tell you what about you is nice. If it makes you happy, if you’re comfy with it, then that’s wonderful.”

“B-but-”

“If you think your hips being big is a problem, then I’m just gonna have to...to tell you that…”

Airi steeled herself, she had to stay strong.

“I think they’re super cute, Eiji!”

Airi shut her eyes tightly, convinced all she’d done was get Eiji more embarrassed about everything, it was when she heard a soft, sweet giggle, however, that she finally felt like she deserved to open them once more.

Her eyes were met by the sight of Eiji, smiling happily as she put her hands together and twiddled her fingers so adorably that Airi could’ve sworn this was all just a particularly sweet daydream.

“Ehehe, that’s...that’s really nice of you, Airi!” Eiji smiled, her eyes brimming over with happy tears, while her tail wagged behind her. “I don’t get a lot of compliments, but...that’s the second time you’ve called me cute today, so… So I’m really happy!”

“Y-yeah?” Airi sheepishly asked back as she turned her head to avoid looking Eiji in the eyes. Despite the ridiculously giddy smile she was wearing, her face was still bright red, and her ears were folded firmly against her head.

“Uh-huh! It’s all been so nice for me, so I’m super happy you think it’s nice, too! B-but Airi…” Eiji continued, in a much softer voice.

“Yeah?”

“These pants are soooooo tight, Airi! They really hurt!” she wailed, immediately looking dreadfully embarrassed once more.

“Th-then take ‘em off, Eiji!” she yelled, before hastily realizing what she’d just said. “N-no, I mean! Don’t- I mean, do, but- I dunno, Eiji! Do whatever’s comfortable!”

“I wanna! B-but I can’t just strip in front of-”

Eiji was almost relieved that she didn’t have to say something she found so embarrassing as both girls’ respective train of thought was instantly derailed. Realizing, however, that the loud tearing sound that had interrupted them had come from the pants she’d just been complaining about, tearing at the sides and showing both girls a great deal of her soft, squishy thighs, brought that embarrassment back in full force. Eiji barely even had a second to appreciate just how much more comfortable things were now that she wasn’t being squeezed so tightly.

“Airiiiiii…” Eiji whined, sounding every bit like a puppy in need of some love and affection.

“I-it’s okay, Eiji… We’ll just… We’re just gonna get these off of you, okay? Before it gets any worse,” she said, carefully walking up to Eiji and trying not to think too hard about how soft she was as he put her hands on her hips, already feeling just how tightly the pants were pressing in against her body.

“I’m just going to help you get them off, and I won’t stare or even look. Not if you don’t want me to. Alright?” Airi asked, hoping she sounded at least a little more composed than she actually was.

Eiji looked up at her with wet eyes, sniffling a little as she timidly nodded. It took more resolve than Airi knew she had to not pet her right there, but she gave the most reassuring smile she could as she said, “Alright. I’m gonna start taking them off, then,” and awkwardly worked her hands around the front of Eiji’s pants, the button already puckered in and straining, desperate to break free.

As she slid her pants down, she did everything she could to put the feeling of her hands brushing against Eiji’s legs out of her mind. Above all else, she was determined to help Eiji, desperate to see her excited smile return once more. She couldn’t let her own shyness get in the way of that.

“There ya go! See? Everything’s okay, Eiji,” Airi reassured her as her hands reached the ground, leaving her pants to pool around her ankles before picking herself back up and turning away from her crush.

“I’ll be right here, got that? You can...you can hold my hand if you want. Even if I can’t see you, I promise I’m here for you, Eiji.”

“H-hey, Airi?”

“Hmm?”

“You...you can look… It’s OK.”

“Ahaha, you’re being so brave, Eiji! It’s amazing! But don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“N-no, really! My shirt was tucked in, so I kinda didn’t notice until you, umm, helped, but… I got all short, remember? So my shirt covers things up a little!”

“...Are you sure, Eiji?” Airi shyly asked.

“Mmm,” she nodded. “I’m sure.”

Taking a deep breath, Airi turned to face Eiji, trying to dismiss the dozens of images about what she might look like wearing nothing but a dress shirt.

...All of which the sight in front of her immediately put to shame.

_Eijiiiiii! How are you so amazing, Eiji?! You look so good! So...so sexy! Oh gosh oh gosh oh goshohgoshohgoshoh-_

Doing everything in her power not to let her excitement show, Airi was stunned by how incredible the girl in front of her looked. Her long, though still fairly tight dress shirt hugged her soft, full figure lovingly, reaching down to her mid-thigh and making each and every one of her curves that much more alluring.

“Ehehe, it’s kinda cute!” Eiji smiled. “Like I’m playing dressup in boy’s clothes or something. It’s sorta fun.”

_Cute?! Eiji, everything about you is cute! But that’s so far from the first thing that comes to mind when you’re dressed like this! You’re so damn hot, Eiji! It’s amazing!_

“Yeah!” Airi agreed, nodding vigorously. “It’s super sweet seeing you get so excited like this.”

“Plus we can see my legs better now, too!” she cried out happily, pointing down at her somewhat soft, pudgy calves and adorable little feet. “Gosh! It’s so nice! I used to get super shy about my legs, but everything’s all pretty now! Look! My nails even grew out there, too!”

Airi smiled warmly at that, pleased, more than anything, by Eiji’s completely unreserved happiness, which seemed to have all but vanished over the past few months, returning in a heartbeat. As a child, she’d always had an uncanny ability to bounce back from even the worst moods, and seeing it once again almost brought Airi to tears.

As her gaze drifted back up, though, she was stopped before she could see her giddy smile, her attention naturally gravitating to her shirt, now tenting out in front of her and presenting Airi with a clear view of two sweet, budding breasts.

_Oh...oh gosh...has Eiji noticed those…? B-but how do I tell her?! I can’t say I was looking at them! No way, she’d get all worked up and shy. But- Ahhh! Eiji, I’m so sorry for how embarrassed you’re about to...get…_

Airi’s incredibly flustered thoughts slowed down as her gaze moved higher still, before stopping entirely when she realized that Eiji, too, was no longer focused on her legs in the least. Instead, she was staring straight at her new endowments with a look that was equal parts excited and embarrassed, right before looking up at Airi. As their eyes met, both girls turned bright red instantly.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to stare!” Airi cried, spinning around on the spot.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry I’m such a pervert!” Eiji yelled out at the same time, turning away in kind and putting a hand over her chest protectively.

“Huh?”

The both of them paused, taken aback by what they’d just heard from each other.

“Y-you’re not a pervert, Eiji… That stuff is...well, it’s another part of your b-body, s-s-so…” she stammered, before taking a deep breath and doing everything she could to stay composed. “It’s only natural to be c-curious, don’t you think?”

Despite Airi doing her best to remain calm, her blush hadn’t faded in the least, and the tightness that had suddenly spiked in her own chest seemed to have no intention of easing up on her.

“Y-yeah, I guess so. A-and it’s OK that you...umm, you saw. B-because you’ve been so helpful! So I’d be kinda surprised if you didn’t see that, at least-ugh, a little.”

Eiji, on the other hand, had no idea how she could even begin to calm down after that, and as her shirt started to strain more and more against her still burgeoning chest, she couldn’t help but cup her breasts shyly, wondering just how big things were about to get. Despite her shyness, however, she found herself admiring just how good they felt, loving the way her fingers sunk into the soft, tender flesh. The fabric of her shirt straining to stay intact, however, was far less pleasurable.

“Eiji? You OK?” Airi asked, hearing her crush let out a series of frustrated grunts.

“It’s just...just…”

Eiji bit her lip, watching her buttons pulling out, her shirt getting tighter and tighter as her chest continued to grow.

“D-don’t worry, Eiji! I won’t laugh, or make fun of you, or anything! So you can tell me what’s up if it’ll help!”

“M-my shirt’s just so tight, Airi!” Eiji cried out, turning around to face her friend with large, watery eyes, her ears pulled down tight against her head while her tail drooped between her legs.

There was only a brief moment for Airi to take in the sight of two full, round breasts pressed tight against Eiji’s shirt before, with a loud popping sound, the button stuck right between them came flying off.

All Eiji could focus on for the moment was the spot the button had hit on the wall in front of her, and the lazy path it took back down to the ground, the fact that she’d lost a button on her shirt hardly registering to her at all.

Airi, on the other hand, couldn’t help but tear her eyes away from the view she got of the cleavage between Eiji’s breasts and, even more enticing, the slight hint of brown peeking out from the edges of her shirt as her areola seemed to puff up before her eyes.

“Th-that was…” Eiji started to say, her voice starting warble with emotion as it finally dawned on her. As soon as she’d spoke, Airi had already turned back around, desperate to not see any more, but keeping the image of what she’d seen at the forefront of her mind.

“I-it’s OK, Eiji!” Airi blurted out, each word rushing through her lips in an effort to keep Eiji as comfortable as possible. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, got that? That shirt’s a bit small for you, but I’ll find you some clothes that fit really soon, I promise! S-so don’t be sad, Eiji! This is all super nice, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah, it...it really is.”

Though she was sniffling a little, Airi was more than a little relieved to hear a slight trace of elation re-entering Eiji’s voice.

“You’re the best, Airi…” she mumbled nervously, taking one of Airi’s hands in her own.

“Ehehe, you too, Eiji,” she beamed. “So how about I head out now, huh? I’ll go pick up some clothes for you. It’ll have to be something simple, but-”

Airi paused, feeling Eiji’s grip on her hand start to tighten.

“I wouldn’t be gone for long, Eiji. Yui’d be able to pick out much cuter stuff than me, so I’ll just get something simple! Just a quick little walk and...and…”

Though Eiji found it hard to focus, distracted by the warm, fluttery sensation in her lower belly, her grip held firm. While she couldn’t quite say why she was so intent on keeping Airi around, she needed a friend by her side right now. Eiji was certain that there was no way she could get through this without her.

“Eiji? What’s wrong? Can I help you with something?” Airi asked, her voice heavy with concern.

“C-can you just stay for a while longer, Airi?” Eiji asked, starting to tremble now as the fluttery sensation grew. She squeezed her legs together tightly, her arousal making her painfully aware of how good her soft, pudgy thighs felt pressing into each other. “Y-you don’t- Nnn… You don’t have to…” Eiji started to pant, her tail wagging behind her despite her fatigue, “but it’d mean a lot if you just...kept holding my hand.”

“Mmm. I’m here for you.”

It was Airi’s turn to tighten her grip, making sure that Eiji knew that she’d stay. Airi had a feeling she knew what was happening now, and though her blush deepened at the thought, she couldn’t back away, not after how nervous Eiji had sounded. She had to be there for her, to be her rock whenever she was scared or lonely, and though Eiji felt immeasurably good right now, beset by a variety of sensations that were far, far too pleasurable for her to even attempt to describe, right now she was in desperate need of support.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, Eiji. Not now, not ever. I’ll always be here when you need me.”

Eiji squirmed, her thighs rubbing together as her senses began to dull and her mind went blank. For a moment, the world around her and Airi might as well have disappeared. All she needed now was Airi to be here for her, to keep her from collapsing as her body was racked with pleasure. For as good as every sensation felt, for as dizzy and giddy as they made her, it was Airi’s voice that made her happier than anything else. She’d have sworn she could feel her sweet, reassuring words caressing her body like a loving hug as her pleasure mounted.

_I’m so happy you’re here, Airi…_

Though she’d worked so hard not to make a sound, Eiji couldn’t help but let one escape her lips: A moan so sweet and soft that it was barely more than a squeak, letting the both of them know that everything was coming to a close now. The transformation that had taken both of them by surprise, yet had already given them both a great deal of joy, finally settled down.

“Airi?” Eiji mumbled, her voice sounding dreamy and distant, while her grip on Airi’s hand finally started to loosen up.

“Finished, huh?” Airi asked, smiling sweetly despite how embarrassed she knew she should have felt.

“Uh-huh…”

“Why don’t you lie down in the living room for a little bit, huh Eiji? Maybe take a second to just relax?”

“Mmm, I think I’d really like that, Airi…” Eiji sleepily replied, wearing a happy smile of her own while Airi walked her through to the living room.

“Ehehe, I bet!” Airi replied, still making sure to avoid looking directly at her even as she lay the girl down on one of the couches. “You’ve had such a big day, haven’t you? And you were so brave through all of it!”

“I was?”

“Mmhmm! That would’ve been so scary for a lot of people, but you did great! You were like…hmm… Ah, that’s it! Ultra Eiji!”

“Ehehe…” Eiji giggled, struggling to keep her eyes open as she started to drift off.

“But Airi? Can you...can you call me Miki?”

“Miki, huh?” Airi asked, before nodding happily in response. She didn’t need to know why she’d requested that. If it was important to Miki, she’d do it. “Yeah! It’s a really nice name! Ultra Miki!”

Miki, for her part, didn’t even have the energy to respond anymore. A small puff of air escaped her nostrils, and her smile grew just a little wider, but that was all she could manage for now.

“I’ll be right back, OK Miki?” Airi whispered, finally letting go of Miki’s hand. “I’ll come back with some cute clothes, and we’ll have the best Kaguya’s Day ever. I know it!”

~~~

“Nnnh…”

Miki groaned, blearily opening as she was pulled out of a dream that she couldn’t quite recall, yet she just knew was absolutely wonderful.

“Airi?”

The sweet sound of her own voice reassured her that what she could remember—the wonderful, exciting, and at times endlessly embarrassing transformation she’d just gone through—wasn’t a part of whatever happy dream she’d experienced. Still, just to be 100% sure, she couldn’t help but reach a hand down under the thick, fluffy blanket that had been draped over her body, running her hands down her softer figure lovingly and cementing that everything was just as incredible as she’d remembered it to be.

“Gosh...They’re really big, huh…?” Miki asked, blushing shyly as her hands cradled her breasts, stunned that any part of her could be so soft and so sensitive.

“But maybe I should do this later…” she whispered, letting out a sweet little giggle. “If someone walked in on me now… Jeez…”

Shaking the shyness away as best as she could, she moved into a seated position, keeping the blanket tightly pressed against her curves in an attempt to stay as covered up as possible, and groggily eyed a set of clothes and a note on the table in front of her.

“Airi?” she called out once more. “Sis? Nonoka?”

No answer. Though with how low she’d kept her voice, too shy in her current state of undress to raise it any louder, that should’ve been expected. Not that Miki had thought of that, of course.

“Let’s get dressed first…” she whispered. “I just hope this stuff fits…”

She blushed, pulling the blanket off of her body and seeing her deep, full cleavage showing through her old shirt, threatening to pop out at a moment’s notice.

“Nuh-uh, can’t get embarrassed now! Gotta stay brave and- Oh jeez! You got me a bra and panties, too…? And they’re really big, oh wow...”

Though the idea of going without any sort of underwear was far, far more embarrassing to her, as she held up a pair of strawberry-patterned panties, Miki realized that this would be her first time ever getting to try on something like them. While she was endlessly shy about the prospect, she couldn’t deny just how excited it still made her.

“OK, lessee… This is simple, just gotta slide ‘em up my legs and…there!”

Miki smiled, extremely satisfied by the fact that she’d finally, finally been able to try on her first piece of women’s clothing, her shyness completely fading for a moment.

“Oooh, and they’re super snug too, ehehe,” she giggled, looking down the best she could at the way her cute panties stretched across her soft, round butt, cradling and lifting it warmly.

“You’re up next!” she said, wearing a soft little smile as she held up the cute bra somebody had picked up for her, bearing the same strawberry pattern that was currently covering up her butt. “...And...you’re a little scarier...Jeez, I hope this isn’t too hard…”

Shaking slightly while she popped open what few buttons had stayed closed on her tight shirt, she was more than happy with how much less constrained she felt as she pulled it off and dropped it straight to the ground, as if the idea of even touching it again was poisonous to her.

“OK, so...I just pull it over my shoulders, like….that! Yeah, that feels…” she fiddled with her breasts, her ears drooping shyly as she pushed them into the cups that, thankfully, managed to fit her chest perfectly, “good! But now there’s ummm...the hook in the back…”

Reaching behind her back, Miki’s hands fumbled around for far longer than they should have searching for the hook to her bra, still not used to her completely different proportions and wearing something she’d previously never given much practical thought to. After a little while, she’d finally managed to get everything into place, and her smile widened as she admired the way it snugly cradled her chest and eased a slight strain in her back that she hadn’t even realized was there. Though she wouldn’t say it out loud anytime soon, she was also completely enamoured with the lift it gave her boobs, making them look softer, rounder, and more importantly in her mind, bigger.

“Oh gosh! I got it all on!” Miki giggled, jumping up and down giddily and sizing up every inch of her full figure. Though she was definitely chubbier than she’d ever been before, she couldn’t really feel even the slightest bit embarrassed about any of that. Everything about her was cute now, really. She was more than happy with that realization, particularly when the word “huggable” popped into her mind.

_Huggable?! Oh wow, I am huggable, aren’t I? Yeah! Soft and cuddly! Ehehe, I wonder if Airi might..._

Her cheeks reddening once more, Miki quickly set about putting on the rest of the clothes she’d been provided. She was a little saddened by how...plain they were, pulling out a simple tracksuit and a white t-shirt, but she was sure that, if she asked nicely, the others might be willing to help her find something that looked just as cute as she felt.

_Besides, wearing an... Oh gosh, a dress or a skirt might be a liiiiiittle too much for today!_

Giggling softly to herself, she slipped into the rest of her clothes with little ceremony. Even if they weren’t flattering, she was still more than happy to have something that fit. Something made with her figure in mind would come later. Everything she’d worn had been so...shapeless and dull before, and she couldn’t wait to change that in future.

“Well, at least it’s really comfy! That’s good enough for now!” she smiled, sitting back down and taking a look at the note that had been left for her.

「Hope you slept really great, Miki! 」

Miki giggled, immediately catching that the messy, uneven handwriting had to mean the note was from Airi.

「I hope the clothes fit OK! I couldn’t really grab anything fancy, but as long as you’re nice and comfy today, I’m happy with that.

It’s been a really busy day, huh? You’ve definitely earned a nice, long rest, so if you’re still worn out, that’s OK! You can head up to your room and go right back to sleep if you want! You don’t have to say a word to me or anyone else until you’re good and ready!」

“Ehehe, you’re working really hard, huh Airi?”

「But, when you do feel OK, I’ll be here for you, got that? If talking to me ever feels scary, that’s something I’ll work to fix for ya. So take your time, and I’ll be waiting here to help however I can.

And, well...not sure if I should say this in a note, but Miki is a really nice name, y’know that? It fits you perfectly.」

Miki’s eyes started to well up with tears as she reached the end. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. All of what had happened to her was incredible, but Airi’s kindness really hammered in just how warm and pleasant it all was.

“Oh gosh! I didn’t know you were awake!” Miki heard Airi exclaim, turning to see her standing in the doorway to the living room, holding a trayful of sweets.

“Looks like you read the note! I’m...I’m gonna stick to my word there! If you’re a little nervous or anything right now, you can head up to your room, OK? I won’t be upset. I...uhhh, I brought you some sweets, so if you wanna take those with you, you can do that too.”

“Ahaha, I’m OK, Airi! I’d...I’d rather eat them with you, if that’s OK?”

“Ya sure? I understand if you’re scared, so….”

“Ummm, well, I’m still a little nervous, but...could we talk about that, Airi? Keeping quiet’s only gonna make that stuff scarier.”

Airi smiled, giving a slight nod before walking toward Miki and laying the sweets on the table in front of them.

“Mind if I sit next to you?”

“Go for it!” Miki smiled back. As Airi took a seat, however, both girls dropped into an awkward silence, too nervous to look each other in the eyes, let alone start a conversation.

Eventually, the awkward weight of the silence finally getting to her, Airi began to speak.

“So uhhh...the clothes fit OK, huh?” Airi shyly asked, immediately regretting the question as she realized just how well they hugged Miki’s figure, showing just about every curvy inch of her body. Distressingly, she also noticed the way her tail pushed the pants down a little, revealing the slightest hint of her panties, wishing she’d found something better designed to accommodate it.

“Uh-huh! Thanks so much, Airi! They’re super comfy. I...I was sorta hoping that someday soon we could maybe all get some clothes together. N-now that I’m really...really me, y’know?”

“Yeah… I think I’d like that. Bet Yui’d find you some really great stuff, too!”

“Mmm, I’m sure you all would,” Miki smiled shyly, taking a chocolate cornet from the table and munching as the awkward silence descended on the room against once more.

“So, Miki?”

“Yeah?”

“About, uhm...about you, I guess… All that stuff you said earlier, about saying you’re a girl and all that… That wasn’t just you playing around, huh?”

“No...I...I think I’ve always wanted this, Airi. Didn’t expect some parts of it, ehehe…” she patted one of her fluffy ears shyly, “but it’s all really nice, y’know? Like...it’s who I’ve always been, deep down.”

Airi nodded, comforting Miki and wrapping her up in a soft, warm hug.

“Then that’s who you are. I’d never, ever tell you that you were wrong about that.”

Slowly, Miki tried returning the hug, only to tense up and pull away at the sound of their front door opening, accompanied with a loud call of, “We’re home!”

“Oh gosh, Airi! What do I do?! They’re gonna see, and...and...and they’re gonna think I’m weird and-”

“Nuh-uh, no way!” Airi put her hands on Miki’s shoulders, staring her straight in the eyes. “They’re our sisters, and there’s no way they won’t support you. But if you’re scared, Miki, then I’m here! I’ll stick up for ya, no matter what!”

“Airi, I…”

Her voice was shaky and uneven, but as the sound of footsteps drew closer, Miki steeled herself as best as she could, nodding back at Airi.

“Mmm! I’ve got you on my side. No way I could ever be scared with you around.”

Right at that second, Yui stepped in the room, with Nonoka not far behind.

“Hi Airi!” Yui smiled pleasantly, before turning her attention to Miki, her eyebrows raising slightly in surprise. “And hello there! You must be a friend of Airi’s. My name’s Yui Maihama, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Nonoka Kiriyama, I’m Airi’s sister,” Nonoka added, wearing a slight smile as she waved at Miki.

“H-hi, you two…” Miki stammered, too shy to say much else, her hand tightly gripping Airi’s.

“Hey sis, hey Yui,” Airi smiled, keeping her voice as warm as possible, though it lacked her usual giddy energy. “Could you two sit with us for a while? There’s something we wanna talk about.”

“Everything OK, Airi?” Nonoka asked.

“Mm-hmm!” she nodded. “Everything’s great, I promise. But it’s just...it’s important that the four of us talk, that’s all.”

“Of course! Let me just go say hi to Ei-”

“Miki.”

Airi cut her off, squeezing Miki’s hand to help keep her calm.

“Her name’s Miki, and she’s right here.”

“Hmm?”

Yui looked puzzled, not quite sure what Airi was trying to say. Nonoka, however, seemed to have at least some idea of where this was going.

“Let’s just take a seat for now, huh Yui?” Nonoka asked, taking her by the hand and leading her over to the armchairs. “So, Airi said your name was Miki?”

“Uh-huh…” Miki shyly nodded.

“Sorry if we’re scaring you at all!” Yui smiled. “Maybe I could make us all some tea, hmm? Would that help?”

Miki shook her head.

“N-no thanks, Sis, I-”

Miki froze, realizing what she’d just said.

“Sis?”

“I-I mean… Well… I’m sorry, I…”

As Miki’s confidence dwindled away, her ears drooping down against her head, Airi took over for her, helping out the only way she thought she really could.

“It’s OK, Miki. I’ll explain things, alright?”

Miki nodded shyly, leaning against Airi as she did so.

“Yui, Sis.” Airi swallowed the lump in her throat, she couldn’t waver now. “This is Miki. She’s...your younger sister.”

“But...I don’t have-”

“You do.

Maybe we didn’t know it, maybe she didn’t even know it for sure and it took a little magic for her to really see it, but Miki’s your younger sister, and...and my best friend in the whole world!”

Airi’s voice started to shake. She worried she was saying things wrong, putting words in Miki’s mouth and confusing their older sisters more than anything else. That fear only cemented as she saw Yui flash Nonoka a questioning look.

“A-and no matter what we called her until now, or what she looked like, or any of that, this is who she really is, and...and she’s so damn scared everyone’ll hate her for it, so…we’re all gonna do our best to be there for her, OK? Because she’s family, and family sticks up for each other, no matter what!”

“I-It’s OK, Airi. If they don’t like me, I’ll be-”

“No way, Miki!” Airi cried out, hugging her crush tightly as her eyes welled up with tears. “They’re the best sisters ever, right? So there’s no way this’d make them dislike you! Never ever.”

“Airi’s right, Miki,” Yui interjected.

Thoroughly caught off guard, both younger girls pulled away from the hug, looking over to see their older sisters smiling warmly at them.

“You’re being so brave. I can’t even imagine how scary it must be to let all of this out.”

“So, of course we’re gonna support you,” Nonoka added. “Like Airi said, you’re family. We’ve always loved you, and we always will.”

“B-but-”

“No buts!”

Yui cut Miki off, getting up from her seat and wrapping her younger sister in a hug of her own. Miki gently rested her head on her shoulder as she sniffled.

“You don’t even have to explain this to us if you don’t want to, Miki. Because this is who you are, isn’t it? And nobody should ever have to explain that to anybody else.”

Miki nodded gently, tears beginning to stream down her face and soak her sister’s blouse as she shyly returned her hug.

“You’ve kept this in for so long, haven’t you?”

Miki nodded again, too shaky to even try to speak up.

“We’re so proud of you, Miki,” Nonoka said. “We’re so damn proud of you for being here, for letting us know about all of this. You never have to hide away from us, got that? And Airi?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Thank you, you big dork. I can’t imagine how much harder this all would’ve been for her if you didn’t say all that.”

“Nuh-uh.” Airi shook her head. “Even though she couldn’t say much, Miki’s been braver than I ever could be. There’s no way I wouldn’t be here for her.”

“Y-you three…” Miki started to speak up, lifting herself off of Yui’s shoulder and smiling at her family. “H-how are you so nice to meeeeeee?!” she wailed, quickly finding herself wrapped up in another hug from her sister.

“I thought you were gonna hate me! I thought you were all gonna tell me I was weird, and try to change me back, and...and...I was so scared, and…

I just love you all so much! I...I dunno why I can’t stop crying…You’re all being so kind, and...and I just can’t stop…” she sobbed, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

“Let it all out,” Yui gently replied. “Crying isn’t a bad thing, Miki. You’re letting out everything you’ve kept bottled up for so long. Those tears prove just how strong you really are.”

Miki’s cries grew louder at that.

Her sister was right; she needed this right now. She needed this release more than she ever could have known. By the time her tears had finally started to dry, she knew that there was nothing left to scare her.

“I just...” Miki started to say, having pulled away from her sister and turned to face her family in earnest, “I’ve always felt kind of out of place here, you know? Don't get me wrong: I’m really glad you let me and Airi live here with you two. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, honestly. But...I guess just being around you three all the time made me feel like there was something...some way I really wanted to be, but just couldn’t? And it kind of made me want to keep my distance and tell myself that I didn’t fit in. That I couldn’t. A-and I knew what that something was. I’ve known it for a really long time, I think, but I only really realized it living here, but I just… I could never say it…”

“That’s why you’ve been so reserved lately, huh?” Nonoka smiled sympathetically.

“Mmm… It just felt like, if I lay in my room, if I didn’t let anyone else see me most of the time, I could just sorta forget myself for at least a few hours. I didn’t have to think about everything that felt wrong. It...It wasn’t really nice, but it was all I could really do to take my mind off of things. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, or make sweets with Sis, or...or anything, really.”

“Miki…” Airi whimpered, not sure what else she could say.

“B-but I’m OK now. I’m me.”

“You are,” Yui smiled. “And that’s wonderful. We’re so happy you finally get to show us all who you really are, Miki.”

“Ehehe, thanks so much, Sis,” Miki smiled, still sniffling slightly. “A-and I get if none of you wanna hang around me after how I’ve been, but if you’ll let me...I want to try and make up for all of that. I wanna spend time with all of you again, like we used to.”

Yui petted Miki’s hair playfully, delighted by the way her younger sister shyly giggled and squirmed in response. “Silly, of course we still want to spend time with you. We’ve all missed you so much, you know that?”

“Y-yeah?”

“Yeah!” Airi agreed. “We’ve got so many games we have to finish, and a buncha movies we all waited to see because they just wouldn’t be as fun if you weren’t with us! And...and I wanna taste the desserts you made with Yui again, and...we all wanna make you smile again, the way you used to each and every day.”

“You make every day just a little brighter, Miki,” Nonoka added. “No matter how much I love Yui and Airi, without you, our family just isn’t complete, y’know. So, yeah, we’re all happy to have ya back.”

“You three…” Miki paused, wiping away the tears that were beginning to fall once more, before flashing her family a big, happy smile. “I’m so happy to be with all of you!”

“There you go! That’s the smile I was talking about, Miki!”

“Jeez, Airi, it’s embarrassing when you say it, ehehe…” Miki whined, though her smile hadn’t faded in the least.

“Miki, do you mind if I ask you something? It’s OK if you don’t want to answer,” Yui asked, going back to her seat and helping herself to one of the cornets on the living room table.

“Hmm?”

“Well, I was just wondering how you made all of this happen. It had to have been some kind of magic, right? But...what did it?”

“Ummm, well…” Airi blushed, “I think I might be able to answer that…”

“Hmm? Did you do all this, Airi?”

“N-no, she-” Miki tried to explain, but Airi quickly spoke over her, confident that much of this lay on her shoulders.

“It’s OK, Miki! I’ve gotta be honest about stuff, after all. I...well, I’m not 100% sure, but I think I know why Miki looks so different. It’s kind of embarrassing to say… Still, if Miki’s being so brave, I guess I can try too...”

Airi took a deep breath, psyching herself up as best as she could for what she was about to say.

“I...KindasortadreamedaboutMikilookingjustlikethis!” she yelled, the words spilling out as an almost unintelligible mess.

“C-come again?” Yui asked, not quite sure if she’d caught much of that at all.

“I...y’know…”

She took another breath, slow and steady.

“I just...sometimes have little daydreams about Miki… I have for a couple of years now. Even before she looked like this. For whatever reason, my head kept picturing her as a...canis girl…”

“B-but Airi, I really don’t think it’s all because of you…” Miki whimpered.

“I dreamed about you like this just before I started working in the kitchen. Miki came in and talked to me, and when we looked into each other’s eyes, we got all dizzy and stuff, like...I dunno, there was some weird connection or something. Then she started changing into...the exact girl I kept dreaming of…”

“Airi, it’s OK. Whether or not you’re the reason I look exactly like this, it’s...it’s not like I had no part in this,” Miki shyly responded, her cheeks painted a soft pink. “Besides, neither of us know any magic, so no matter how much you thought about me like this, that wouldn’t have done anything on its own.”

“But...nobody used any spells or anything, so…”

“It was the chocolate, Airi…” Miki sighed, “You guessed that while I was changing, a-and I was kinda embarrassed at the time, but you ate a piece of it too, right? The one they sell at Dream Puff and that Linth’s Finest place?”

“Y-yeah, I did. But that chocolate came from Sis.”

“Nope, wasn’t me. I went to a chocolatier near campus. Dream Puff and Linth’s Finest are both way too far away for me to visit on such short notice,” Nonoka explained.

“Believe me, our kitchen would’ve been stocked full of pastries and sweets if she’d gone there,” Yui giggled.

“I bought that chocolate,” Miki piped up. “I knew they were doing something special for Kaguya’s Day, so I went and bought that a couple of days ago. They said it was a limited enchanted bar.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Uh-huh. They said something about how...what was it…? If a...a c-couple shared it, the magic inside would help them really connect with each other, bringing both of them love and happiness. That sounds like a lot, I know,” Miki said, instantly addressing the women looking at her, “but, the way I saw it, if I just ate it myself, what would the difference be? And, even if someone did have another piece, they told me that whatever effect it ultimately has for the people that eat it, it only actually works if...if both of them want that to happen.

S-so if I didn’t want any part of this, we might’ve still gotten all dizzy, but I wouldn’t have changed at all. It’s probably why you stayed the same, because I’m guessing you don’t really want to change anything about yourself, Airi...”

“I mean, not off the top of my head…”

“But it’s nothing you’ve gotta feel guilty for, got that? If you hadn’t tried the chocolate, I...gosh, I dunno when I’d ever be able to actually do something with all those feelings I’d bottled up. I’d probably just sit around feeling lonely, honestly. So...thank you, Airi!” Miki smiled, then wrapped Airi tightly in her arms.

“Nah, thank you, Miki,” Airi said, smiling warmly, “for being brave enough to tell us all this stuff. You really are amazing, y’know?”

“Jeez, Airi…” Miki giggled, blushing softly.

“Oh!” Yui piped up, quickly getting the attention of everyone in the room. “I take it the confession went well? You two make such a cute couple already, ahaha!”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“I mean...is she right?” Nonoka asked, apparently also completely oblivious to her fiancée’s error.

Still hugging each other tightly, Miki and Airi both turned bright red as their ears bolted upright, their smiles giving way to an embarrassment so intense that the room around them seemed to heat up along with their cheeks.

“SIIIIIIS!!!!” They both cried, too flustered to release themselves from each other’s grasp.

“C-c-c-confession?!” Miki stammered.

“I’d’ve texted you two if I’d managed that today!” Airi blurted out at the same time, the crimson on her cheeks further deepening as Miki turned to face her.

“You were gonna confess to me, Airi?!”

“N-no! No way! I mean...no, yeah! Yeah, I...oh gosh, I’m making it sound bad! I mean…” Airi took a deep breath and shut her eyes tightly, though it did nothing to calm her nerves as she finally let out the words that had been on the tip of her tongue for years.

“Yeah! Because I’ve had a huge crush on you since we were kids, Miki!”

The room fell silent once more.

“...You have?” Miki asked, looking far more composed than anyone could’ve expected as her lips curled into a faint smile once more. “You mean it?!”

“I-I’ve gotta say it again?!” Airi grumbled, her eyes directly meeting Miki’s bright, expectant gaze.

“Gah, fine! I’ll say it as many times as I have to! I’ll say it so much that there’s no way it’ll ever embarrass me ever again!

I love you, Miki! I always have! You’re my best friend in the whole world, and I’ve been working so hard to tell you! I kept wishing the right time would finally come, and Yui and Sis knew and tried to help me confess today, and I was gonna make cute chocolates for you, and-”

As her words grew increasingly rushed and frantic, she was quickly cut off by the feeling of something soft pressing against her lips.

Despite being certain that she was screwing things up, Miki was kissing her lovingly, and the red on both girl’s cheeks faded into a soft, warm pink. Though their shyness returned in full force by the time they finally let go, neither of them could even begin to hide their giddiness.

“Miki…”

“You’re the best, Airi,” Miki smiled. “You always have been. You’re so kind, and sweet, and cool, and fun, and I could go on forever! B-but that’d be silly, so…”

“Nothing about you is silly!” Airi giggled.

“So I’ll just keep it down to telling you that I love you so so so so sooooooo much! Ehehe, I guess the kiss kinda already said that though, huh?” Miki mumbled, her ears shyly drooping as she scratched at her cheek.

“Ahahaha… I guess so, but it was still super nice to hear…” Airi dreamily replied, so blissful that she could have passed out right on the spot.

“Looks like we got our answer,” Yui giggled, moving back to the couch to sit with Nonoka.

“Good thing we asked, huh? Knowing these two,” Nonoka looked over at the two younger girls, smiling softly as they struggled to compose themselves much at all after their mutual confession, “it’d have taken years to get even this far if we didn’t give ‘em a push.”

“Ahaha, you might be right! Gosh, remember when you and I were still in middle school? Even back then, we joked about how they’d probably end up together, just like us,” Yui said, snuggling up to her fiancée, who wrapped an arm around her in turn, holding her close.

“Yeah, but neither of us figured it’d happen like this.”

“Still,” Yui smiled, watching as Miki and Airi slowly, shyly went for another kiss, before turning their heads away in embarrassment and immediately apologizing profusely to each other, “I’m glad it did.”

“Pretty corny way to put that,” Nonoka teased, gently petting Yui’s hair. “But yeah, I’m happy too. I’ll kinda miss giving Airi love advice though.”

“Ahaha, you think so? I’m not so sure. After all, they’re dating now, but well…” Yui paused, trying to think of the gentlest way to put her thoughts. “I think they’ll want our help more than ever.”

“True. Come to think of it, you think they’ve even thought about stuff like school?”

The younger girls perked up at that, finally catching part of Yui and Nonoka’s conversation.

“School?! Oh gosh, I’ll get to wear a girl’s uniform, huh?!”

“Yeah! I bet you’ll look super cute in it too!” Airi enthusiastically agreed, blushing slightly at how direct her compliment was.

“Well, it’s a good thing this happened over a weekend, then,” Yui smiled. “We’ll have to get a uniform that fits you and accommodates your tail. Oh, and while it shouldn’t take too long, we’re going to need to file quite a lot of paperwork for you, Miki.”

“Ehehe…” Miki laughed sheepishly, not wanting to admit that she hadn’t even considered the red tape involved in all of this. “B-but you’ll help with that, right Sis?”

“Of course! We all will. We’ll have to take you clothes shopping too. A uniform’s one thing, but I don’t think any of your old clothes would fit at all. And we’ll have to buy underwear, too, and take you for a bra fitting...”

“Y-yeah? Can’t we just order stuff online?” Miki asked. Despite how much the idea of shopping for cute clothes excited her, it was only now dawning on her just how daunting the idea felt.

“Down the line, absolutely!” Yui nodded.

“But for now, nah, you’re gonna need to come in with us,” Nonoka added. “No way we can judge your sizes accurately on our own. I’m sure it’s scary, but we all know Yui’s got great fashion sense. Watch, the second you get to put on an outfit she’s found for ya and you see how good you look, all that shyness’ll just fade away, I know it.”

“Mmm!” Yui enthusiastically agreed. “I’m already getting plenty of ideas that I know will look adorable on you! And if anything doesn’t quiiiiite fit, I’ve got a friend who cosplays all the time and makes all of their outfits at home. I’m sure if we asked, they’d be happy to make any adjustments you might need!”

“Shoko, right?” Nonoka asked. “The one dating Leth and Zeli?”

“Mm-hmm! So don’t worry, Miki. It’ll be a little daunting at first, but we’re all here to help you. We promise we’ll make it all tons of fun for you.”

“Yeah! It’ll be a lot better than just wearing that tracksuit, too!” Airi smiled, keeping the fact that even in the plain tracksuit she’d hurriedly picked out, she found Miki adorably huggable and soft. “Y-you said you thought shopping together might be fun, remember?”

“Y-yeah, you’re right,” Miki shyly agreed. “I’ll...I’ll do my best. B-but you three?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we, ummm...can we keep the chocolate? I know it’s magical and all that, but it’s super yummy! So if we’re just careful with it, I bet it won’t change anyone else…”

“Miki!” Airi grumbled. “What if it changes you again?”

“Ahaha, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Yui smiled. “Miki, you’re happy with your body the way it is now, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is there anything else you’d really want to change about yourself at this point?”

Miki shook her head vigorously.

“So then I’m sure there’s no trouble in you eating more of it. Besides, Nonoka and I won’t be having any.”

“Right. After all, it’s for couples. You two share it,” Nonoka said with a pleasant smile.

“C-couple…” Airi murmured. “She called us…”

“A couple, yup. Y'know, two people who are dating, like you.”

Nonoka’s smile turned into a teasing smirk, as she pointed at Miki and Airi both.

“A-a couple!” Miki cried out, hugging Airi tightly for support.

“Dating! We’re d-d-dating, Miki!” Airi wailed, returning the hug.

“B-b-b-but we haven’t even gone out on any dates yet! So maybe there’s some sorta technicality, and-”

“Sadly not,” Yui joked. “You two are a fully-fledged couple, through and through. Besides, you want to be able to keep that chocolate, right?”

“Yeah, but-” Miki started, only for Nonoka to quickly cut her off.

“And you two love each other very much, right?”

“We do! Of course!” Airi declared, not willing to let her embarrassment hide her love for Miki any longer.

“So there’s no confusion, then! You two are a young couple in love!” Yui smiled, letting out a sweet, teasing giggle. “Oh, and when we all go clothes shopping, we’ll want to make sure to get you a swimsuit too, Miki. It’d be nice to get you a new one as well, Airi.”

“Ehehehe…” Miki giggled, her earlier embarrassment giving way to total elation. “A...a swimsuit, oh gosh! But I dunno, Sis. I’m not gonna get to use one all that soon, so…”

“Well, about that…” Yui started, reaching into her purse and pulliing out a set of tickets, then displaying them for the younger girls with a smug smile. “Ta-daa! Nonoka and I got lucky at a department store’s lottery before we went out for dinner! We ended up winning a free, week-long stay at a beach resort for the four of us!”

“Oh, wow! Congrats, you two!” Airi beamed, trying her best to not let the adorable image of Miki in a swimsuit completely pervade her thoughts. “We haven’t been to the beach in forever, Sis! I wanna swim in the sea again! Ahhhh, it’ll be so fun!”

“Yakisoba...shaved ice…ramune...watermelon…”

Miki started drooling.

“W-when do we leave?! Can we leave tomorrow?! Oh gosh, let’s go now! If we take a train now, we can get settled in at a hotel and hit the beach nice and early tomorrow morning!”

“Ahaha, hold up, you two!” Nonoka chuckled. “It’s good that you’re excited, but we won’t be able to leave for another couple of weeks. It’s OK, though. It’ll be a good opportunity to get all of Miki’s paperwork squared away.”

“Awwww, b-but what if we left now anyway?! We can go now, then just pay for the first two weeks ourselves and use your tickets on a free extra week on top of that!”

“Sure, if you and Airi wanna pay for it. Oh, and take a bunch of makeup exams after all the school you’d miss. I hear they get pretty brutal, so you might wanna prepare in case you have to repeat a year…”

“Fiiiiine…” the younger girls pouted, their tails and ears drooping completely in-sync with one another.

“So until then,” Yui put the tickets away, smiling warmly at the new couple, “let’s take the time to get used to everything as a family, OK? It’s a big adjustment for all of us, but I just know it’ll bring us all that much closer together.”

“Y-yeah,” Miki smiled. “I’m gonna do my best, everyone!”

“You definitely will! And if you ever feel like things are just a bit too much for you, we’re all here for you, got that Miki?” Airi asked, wearing a confident smile as she wrapped an arm over her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“And in a couple of weeks, we can all get yakisoba together! Ooh, maybe we can have a barbecue on the beach! Sis, can we do that?!”

Yui giggled happily.

“Mmm, we definitely can, Miki.”

~~~

Airi rubbed her eyes blearily as she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was normally an early riser, but yesterday had been so busy, so strange and exciting, that there was no amount of sleep that would have left her feeling particularly well-rested. Things weren’t helped, however, by the fact that she’d been in her bed wide awake for hours the night before, getting jittery and shy over the fact that she was, against all odds, finally in a relationship with the person she’d had a crush on since she was a child. Airi was sure that, had she not smelled a particularly sweet, delicious scent coming from downstairs, she’d have likely stayed in bed all day, catching up on all the sleep she’d missed out on.

“Yui?” she called out, standing outside the kitchen door. “Sis? Is Yui making pancakes?”

Her question was met not by anyone calling back to her, but by the door suddenly opening in front of her, with her sister’s tall, well-built figure completely blocking the view.

“Mornin’, sleepyhead,” Nonoka smiled, ruffling her sister’s hair playfully. “You just gonna stand there? Breakfast’s almost ready, y’know?”

“G’morning, Sis…” Airi yawned. “I didn’t sleep so good, sorry…”

“That’s OK. Yui made dandelion coffee this morning, should perk you right up. Plus...” Nonoka ushered Airi inside, letting her see who was really behind this morning’s breakfast, “your girlfriend made something really special for us all today.”

Airi paused, watching for a moment as Miki poured batter into a frying pan, chatting happily with Yui all the while. It was Yui who noticed Airi’s arrival first, turning and smiling warmly at the sleepy felis.

“Good morning, Airi! Want some coffee? It’s a little sweeter than the usual blend today, so you’ll definitely enjoy it!”

“Oh gosh, Airi! Good morning!”

Miki turned her head to face her girlfriend.

“Ehehe, I was kinda hoping I could bring a tray up to your room. I bet that’d have really surprised you!” she giggled, turning back to face the stovetop. “But that’s OK! It’s much nicer like this! We’ll all get to eat breakfast together!”

It would’ve been an exaggeration to say that her fatigue completely left her at the sight of it all, but the warm, excited greeting Airi gave in return could have fooled anyone into thinking she’d just had the best sleep of her life..

“Good morning, you two! Miki, you’re cooking for everyone?! It’s been so long! And yeah, coffee sounds great!”

“Ehehe...way too long, yeah.”

Miki blushed, not taking her eyes off of the pancake she was currently working on.

“I kept getting scared off. Thought my food wasn’t good enough, and that none of you wanted me, ahaha…”

Though she seemed despondent for a moment, she quickly picked herself back up, her ears and tail perking up instantly.

“But I’m not gonna let that get me down anymore! I’m making extra thick, extra fluffy, suuuuuper special pancakes for everyone!”

“That’s amazing, Miki! I’m so happy! Gosh, we haven’t all spent time together in the kitchen like this in...jeez, it feels like forever! I really missed your pancakes, ahaha!”

“Well, you’re in luck! This is gonna be the tastiest batch ever, I just know it! Want me to put chocolate chips in yours? They’re this really tasty limited batch I bought a little while ago! N-not enchanted though, ahahaha…”

“Oooh, yes please!”

“Some for me too, please!” Yui answered with a smile, handing Airi a cup of freshly-brewed coffee.

“Could I get some too?” Nonoka asked. “Feels like a good day to indulge a little.”

“Ahaha, of course! Chocolate chips for everyone, got it!”

Airi felt so warm and upbeat as she took a seat by her older sister. Though Miki looked so different now, this was a sight she’d missed more than she ever could have known. They really had been such a close-knit group in the past, it hadn’t even felt like they were beginning to drift apart until Miki practically stopped spending time with them altogether. Now, however, seeing her adorable girlfriend smiling so happily, it felt as if all that damage had been mended overnight.

She couldn’t imagine just how difficult it must have been for Miki, trapped in a life that didn’t even feel like her own, but Airi was so glad to see her finally free to be herself.

“Anyone got anything planned for today?” Airi asked, taking a sip of her coffee and smiling at the sweet, refreshing flavor.

“Ahaha, after last night, Nonoka and I mostly just want to relax at home. We know we need to go clothes shopping soon, but we were actually hoping you two would be OK with taking it easy as well.”

“Yeah! That sounds nice!” Miki smiled. “But...didn’t you say there was a bunch of paperwork and stuff to do, Sis? Maybe we should work on that…”

It was clear she took no pleasure in suggesting the idea of paperwork to the others, but Miki was doing her best to be mature about everything, as much as she wanted to spend all day staying cozy with her family.

“That’s why we’re so run down today…” Nonoka jokingly groaned, patting Yui on the shoulders and asking, “You wanna tell ‘em or should I?”

Yui took a sip of her own coffee, smiling happily at the others as she spoke.

“Well, we figured it wouldn’t be any good for a young couple-”

Miki and Airi shuddered slightly at that, but Yui continued speaking unabated.

“-to spend their first few days in a relationship handling stuffy things like paperwork. So, Nonoka and I took care of everything we could last night. All you need to do is sign some pages, Miki, and everything should be taken care of!”

“Oh gosh, really?!” Miki asked, her eyes lighting up excitedly.

“Really,” Nonoka smiled softly. “It felt like the paperwork was never gonna end. We pretty much passed out the second I finished up the last page…”

“Thank you both! I get all dizzy looking at that stuff, so that helps out sooooo much!”

“All we want you to do to make it up to us is for you two to have the best weekend you can possibly have, got that?” Nonoka asked, before adding, “And by giving us some extra chocolate chips today.”

“Ehehe, of course! We’ll all be together, right?”

“Of course!” Yui smiled.

“So then there’s no way it won’t be amazing! Oooh, sis, we should cook dinner together tonight! Oh, and maybe we can make some sweets, too! Cream puffs, maybe? No, actually, melon bread! Ooooh, but we haven’t had cream puffs in a while…”

“We can make both, silly,” Yui giggled. “Special treat to celebrate you two finally getting together.”

“Jeez, Yui! It’s embarrassing, ahaha…” Airi laughed, shyly.

“Ehehe, maybe a little...but we’ll get used to it!” Miki smiled. “If it gets us extra desserts, we should get used to it really soon, Airi! Gosh, we should’ve started dating ages ago!”

“H-hey…” AIri said, fidgeting with her fingers in her lap, “it’s not like I wasn’t trying…”

“Oh gosh! I didn’t mean anything bad by it, promise!” Miki wailed, as she plated a pancake that had just finished cooking.

“Ahaha, I get it, don’t worry,” Airi smiled reassuringly. “B-besides, no matter how nice all that would’ve been, I’m just glad we got to start now, with you getting to openly be you.”

“Yeah,” Miki smiled back, shyly, before leaning over and giving Airi a soft kiss on the cheek. “Sweets are nice and all, but...I think this is much better.”

As if trying to hide her extremely obvious blush, Miki quickly turned back toward the stovetop, pouring another batch of batter into the frying pan.

“I-I really love you, Airi.”

Not that she had any reason to hide it, with Airi’s own face turning bright red in kind as the normally loud, boisterous felis squeaked out a little, “I love you too, Miki,” in response.

~~~

“Yakisoba! Shaved Ice! Ramune! Watermelon!” Miki cried out excitedly, her tail happily wagging through the hole at the back of her skirt.

Yui giggled happily, smiling at her younger sister as they walked toward the beach. Though they were all excited to begin their vacation in earnest, Miki definitely seemed to have an extra spring in her step that morning, desperate to get her hands on what she insisted were “staple beachy foods” the night before.

“Calm down, Miki,” Nonoka smiled. “Eat too much and you’re gonna get sick. Don’t wanna spoil your first day, right?”

“Right!” Miki chirped. “But I’ve got an extra stomach just for occasions like this! So I’ll be OK! Yakisoba! Shaved Ice!”

“Ramune! Watermelon!” Airi joined in now, cheering alongside her girlfriend. Her excitement was just too infectious to resist.

“It’s an extra stomach for sweets, no?” Nonoka asked.

“Oh, I’ve got that too!” Miki stated matter-of-factly, before getting back to her excited chant. “Yakisoba! Shaved Ice! Ramune! Watermelon!”

“Ahaha, at least make sure you two avoid getting any cramps, OK?” Yui asked, wrapping an arm around her fiancée.

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Yui! I’ll make sure Miki waits at least a half hour before getting in the water! Oh, and I’ll get us both to stretch out properly, first! From head to tail, got that Miki?”

“Yakisoba! Shaved Ice! Ramune! Watermelon!” Miki replied. The other girls took that as the only kind of positive affirmation they’d get on that front, and all couldn’t help but let out a collective giggle while the canis chanted away.

They were so lost in the mood, and Miki in her hunger—repeating the food like she was afraid she’d forget what was on a grocery list—that none of them noticed the increasing distance between Airi, Nonoka, and Yui, and Miki in the back.

“Yakisoba! Shaved ice! Ramu-

Shaved ice!” Miki suddenly yelled, interrupting her rhythm as she spied a rather elaborate shaved ice stand just ahead of her.

“Oooh, come on, we’ve gotta get some!” she cried, completely oblivious to the fact that the other three had all kept walking, not seeing that she had stopped at all.

“Shaved ice! Shaved ice!”

The words of her already simple chant had grown simpler still, her attention completely focused on the shaved ice that she was dead-set on buying.

“Oh gosh, they’ve got so many flavors! They all look so good, too! Let’s all get different flavors, OK? That way we can all try a little bit of each of them! Ehehe, it’ll be like we bought out the whole stand, huh?” she asked, not listening for an answer she had no idea wouldn’t arrive, her tail wagging happily behind her.

She was utterly restless by the time she reached the front of the queue, buzzing with excitement as the server took her order.

“Hi there! What flavor would you like?” she asked, smiling warmly at the excited canis.

“Lemon, please! A suuuuuper big serving, too! If that’s not too much to ask, of course! It’s my first time at the beach since grade school, so I wanna make it super fun!” Miki beamed, holding out her money before even asking about the price.

“Great to hear it! One extra-large lemon, coming right up!” the server happily replied, working on her endlessly excited customer’s order before handing it back to her with a smile, along with her change. “Here you go, ma’am! Have a wonderful day!”

“Thank you! You too!”

Miki dug into her shaved ice the second she’d stepped away from the stand, letting out an immensely satisfied, “Oh gosh, it’s sooooooo good!” before turning back toward the queue once more.

“What flavors are you three gonna...get?”

The canis’s smile faded, giving way to confusion as she realized that there wasn’t a trace of her family, who she was absolutely certain had been right behind her.

“Siiiis?” she called in a hushed voice, feeling far too self-conscious to raise her voice too loud in public. “Airi? Nonoka?”

“C’mon...where’d you all go?” Miki whimpered, her ears drooping as she took another bite of her shave ice, her appetite not diminished in the slightest by her worry.

“Th-they went toward the beach, right?! Yeah, they had to! I’ll...I’ll find them in no time!”

Gathering up her courage, Miki hefted the bag she’d been carrying over her shoulder before dashing off, darting through the crowd in a desperate effort to find her family.

Just a little ways away, the other three had found a perfect little patch to lay their things down, relieved to find that they would have more than enough space to stay comfortable despite the huge crowd visiting the beach that day.

“Miki?” Yui asked, placing her bag next to a chair Nonoka had laid down and starting to root through it. “Want me to help with sunscreen?”

Nonoka, who was pitching an umbrella, paused to survey her surroundings, scanning for the canis who she was sure had been with them all along. “Did...did Miki wander off somewhere?”

“Hmm? Nuh-uh, Miki was...right...here?”

Airi froze. Surely they hadn’t been separated. She’d heard Miki singing about food the whole time…

“Wait, when did Miki stop singing...?” Airi asked, only now noticing the absence of the sound she’d largely tuned out after hearing it for so long.

“Oh gosh, I just thought she’d finally run out of stamina…”

Yui furrowed her brow, scanning the beach for her sister.

“It’s alright, she’ll be fine.” she smiled. “Honestly, she likely just got distracted looking at a snack stand, poor girl.”

There was no use getting worked up now, she was sure Miki would be perfectly safe.

“Yeah, that’s...probably it, huh?” Airi asked, sighing and smiling softly to herself.

“Well, let’s call her phone,” Yui offered. “If she doesn’t answer, we’ll just retrace our steps. She’s bound to turn up soon.”

“Right, she probably just got a little too excited and wandered off,” Nonoka smiled, putting a hand on Yui’s shoulder. “Mind calling her, Airi?”

“On it!” Airi nodded and grinned, pulling her phone out of her pocket and quickly dialing Miki’s number, tapping her foot impatiently all the while.

It was around that time that a cheery, upbeat pop song started playing nearby, growing louder by the second.

“Is that…?” Airi paused for a moment, “...The theme from that magical girl show started watching?”

“Siiiiiiis!” a voice wailed, accompanying the song. All three girls turned towards the song, relieved to see Miki hurrying towards them, her hand tightly holding on to a serving of shaved ice.

“Miki!” Airi called out, waving toward the canis. “Where’d you go?”

“I was...I was…” Miki drew closer and closer, trying and failing to answer through her heavy, gasping breaths, rushing right up to her sister and hugging her tightly.

Airi’s eyes widened as she got a view of her girlfriend from behind, seeing something she was certain would embarrass her to no end. From the concerned look on Nonoka’s face, it seemed she’d seen it as well.

“M-Miki, your, ummm...your skirt…”

“I just...just wanted some shaved ice…” she breathed, not hearing Airi in the slightest. “I didn’t mean to get lost, I’m sorry!”

“There, there…” Yui hugged her back, gently petting her sister’s head. “That’s OK, you were just excited, weren’t you?”

Miki shyly nodded.

“Hey, Miki?” Nonoka tried to get her attention now, to no avail.

“It looked so yummy, and...and it really is super tasty! I haven’t had it in so long, Sis...”

“Miki, can you promise me something?” Yui asked, still petting her sister reassuringly. Nonoka and Airi were clearly trying to signal something to her, but while Airi tugged on her pants, and Nonoka mouthed something she couldn’t quite make out, she wasn’t sure what it was they were trying to tell her.

“Y-yeah?”

Se looked up into her sister’s eyes, her face still red from exhaustion. Shyly, she suddenly noticed just how sweaty she was, but that didn’t matter much to her in the moment.

“We’re on vacation, so we all want to have as much fun as we can, but try be just a little more careful with things like that, OK? Ask Airi to come with you if something like that happens again, and keep your phone on you at all times, alright? That way, if you ever get lost again, we’re just a phone call away.”

At times like this, she treated her younger sister as if she was a small child, but Yui could hardly help it. Miki always had a tendency of worrying too much whenever things went a little wrong, so she needed to stay cautious.

“Uh-huh…”

Miki’s ears flattened against her head.

“I’ll do my best, I promise…”

“There there, don’t worry. I promise you haven’t done anything wrong,” Yui reassured her, gently scratching the back of Miki’s ear. “And I’m so glad to hear the shaved ice is tasty! Can I try some?”

“Oh, of course!”

Miki instantly perked up, hopping back from the hug and holding out the shaved ice for her sister.

“I bet you’ll really love it, Sis!”

Letting go of the hug only made what Airi had been staring at even more obvious. Despite her every attempt to avert her gaze, she simply couldn’t stop looking at Miki’s big, soft, round, and incredibly sweaty butt, made plainly visible by her skirt catching on the bag she’d slung over her shoulder, lifting it and exposing her strawberry-patterned panties for all to see.

_Mikiiiiii! Your butt’s so friggin’ cute! It’s so so so so so so soooooo adorable! Oh god, it’s so sweaty, too! That just makes it look even sexier though, Miki!_

Airi shook her head, doing her best to push aside any lingering pervy thoughts, knowing just how shy Miki would get if she discovered what was going on.

Nonoka, for her part, wasn’t sure how to react either. She couldn’t just tell Miki; the poor girl definitely wouldn’t be able to handle that. But she couldn’t exactly go and tug her skirt down, either. Yui had a perfect opportunity to fix things while the two of them were hugging, but she’d completely misunderstood the signals she and Airi were giving her. She was also sure that, by the way Airi was covering her eyes and peeking through her fingers at her girlfriend’s butt, her younger sister’s thoughts were far too scattered for her to help resolve the issue.

_Oh wow, Miki! I...I wanna hug it and rub it and squeeze it and… Oh jeez, why am I being such a perv?! B-but what if she sat on me...? I bet it’d be so soft and-_

_No, Airi! This isn’t the time! B-but what is the right time? Why do I even care?!?!_

Despite her best efforts, Airi was not calming down at all, her excitement growing to a fever pitch. She was sure that, if things lasted any longer, she’d pass out right then and there.

“It really is tasty!” Yui smiled, helping herself to another mouthful of her sister’s shaved ice. “Maybe we can go get some more when we head back to the hotel later today, hmm? Together, this time.”

She knew that would cheer her sister right back up, and judging by her giddy response, it seemed she was right.

“Yeah! There’s so many flavors there, Sis! We’ve gotta try ‘em all!”

Yui smiled, relieved to see her younger sister looking so happy once more, before she finally noticed what Airi and Nonoka had been so desperately signalling her about earlier.

“Hmm? Something wrong, Sis?”

“Oh my, Miki. It looks like you got your skirt caught on your bag.”

Yui kept her serene smile, pointing down at Miki’s skirt.

Nonoka sighed. Yui had, somehow, picked the absolute worst way to resolve the situation that she possibly could have.

“Huh? No it’s...not…”

Miki’s voice trailed off, as she looked down to see that she’d been giving everyone on the beach a completely unobstructed view of her childish panties, her already red face darkening to a deeply embarrassed crimson.

“H-how’d that even happen?!” Miki wailed, hurriedly pulling down her skirt and dropping to the ground, curling up into a tight ball, and burying her face in her legs, too scared to even consider looking at anyone else.

“It’s OK, Miki! You were running so fast to find us, I bet nobody even saw!” Airi tried to reassure her, crouching down next to her. The sound of Miki’s soft, flustered little whines made it clear that she hadn’t accomplished her goal.

“B-but it was pulled up so high! You could practically count the strawberries!”

“No way! You’d have had to show off way more of your butt than that! I swear!”

Airi paused, contemplating what she’d just said.

“Ah.”

_I’ve screwed up, huh?_

Though nobody else could see it, Miki’s eyes widened tremendously at that, her cheeks growing hotter and hotter still.

“Everyone could see my buuuuuuuuutt!”

“B-but it was covered in panties, so-”

“Airi…”

Yui smiled at the young felis, though her furrowed brow made her expression seem far more pained than she’d intended it to.

“Maybe we should give Miki some space, hmm?”

“Do you want that, Miki? Just a second to breathe? We’ll lay out a towel for you here, under the umbrella. You can just get comfy until you feel a bit better,” Nonoka asked, already putting a towel down in the shade.

Miki shyly nodded, lifting her head just long enough to scoot over to the towel, before immediately curling up again.

Airi pouted, tracing a line in the sand with her finger to take her mind off of everything, grumbling all the while about how much she wished she could’ve done more for her girlfriend, when her older sister and Yui crouched down alongside her, whispering softly.

“You OK, Sis?”

“I’m fine…” Airi mumbled unconvincingly.

“I getcha, it sucks when you feel like you can’t help, right?”

Airi nodded, her glum expression a perfect match for her girlfriend’s barely a moment ago.

“Awww, that’s OK, sweetie. You always help her out. More than you could ever know, really!” Yui reassured her. “She’ll be back to her usual self in no time, I’m sure! But I bet there’s a way we can cheer her up extra fast.”

“You think so?!” Airi asked, finally able to muster a hopeful smile of her own.

“Mm-hmm. Did you see how happy that shaved ice made her?”

Airi turned her head toward Miki at Yui’s question, seeing her still shyly digging in to the treat she’d bought.

“Ahaha! I definitely did, yeah.”

“So...there’s a beach café just over there.”

Nonoka pointed backwards over her shoulder, before digging some money out of her pocket.

“Why don’t you go grab us all some yakisoba? Shouldn’t be more than a few zenny.”

“Ohhh! nice thinking, you two!” Airi shouted as she took the money from her sisters and lifted herself to her feet, the older girls quickly shushing her in response. Thankfully, it seemed that Miki hadn’t heard a thing. “Ehehe, sorry about that. I’ll just head over there now, then. I’ll be really quick.”

It was clear from the strained sound of her voice that she was desperate to keep shouting at her usual volume. Still, she fought that urge as hard as she could, keeping things at a whisper.

“Take your time, we’ll all be right here,” Yui smiled, seeing the felis off with a wave as she darted away to buy food.

~~~

Airi made her way back from the café, juggling four bowls of hot, tasty yakisoba as she did, unable to stop her eager sprint from breaking into a light jog as she saw Miki up ahead, shyly watching the waves.

Even though she knew her friend was hurting, Airi couldn’t help but smile, absolutely confident that the food now burning against her arms would at least ease that pain a little.

“Mikiii!” she cried out, too focused on her mission to care about anyone else on the beach staring at her.

For a brief moment, Miki started to turn her head, but, as soon as she caught herself, she turned away, staring back at the water before she’d even faced Airi’s direction. It was as though she was determined to wallow in the sadness she felt, actively choosing it over anything else.

Jeez, Miki…

_I know I’ve made things worse, but I’m gonna fix it! I know I will!_

“Hey, Miki! Guess what?”

Like she’d thought once she’d seen her turn away, Miki had no response, and simply pretended as though she hadn’t heard her.

“She’s been like this since you left,” Nonoka said, walking up to Airi and taking two of the bowls from her younger sister. As she handed one to Yui, she continued, “All of that would have embarrassed anyone, but with how much has happened the past couple weeks…

Poor girl. She needs a lotta warmth right now.”

Airi stared at Miki’s back, not terribly surprised by anything her sister had told her.

_Warmth, huh…_

Fighting back a smile, Airi hurried down to Miki, and carefully sat next to her on the sand. Without a word, she put a bowl of yakisoba in front of Miki, then, drawing her knees up close to her chest, started working on her own portion.

“Haaah,” she slurped, “this really hits the spot! Hey, remember the last time we had yakisoba like this?”

Miki didn’t respond to her question at all, but she could see her friend shyly moving her foot towards the bowl.

“Some of Yui’s friends were at the beach that day, too, and they were off a ways playing beach volleyball. They’d invited her to join, but she didn’t want to that day. Said she was busy with her family.”

Airi noticed a slight smile out of the corner of her eye, and a small nod.

“Anyway, we were sitting here, just like this, when, all of a sudden, BOOM! One of ‘em hits a wild serve that comes over to us and lands right in your yakisoba!”

“The noodles went everywhere…” Miki whimpered.

At some point, she’d placed the bowl Airi had brought her into her lap.

“Yeah! Ahahaha, I was still fishing them out of my hair after we got home! And those girls all came over, super apologetic, and bought all of us new bowls, even though yours was the only one their ball had gotten in!”

“I was so stuffed that day,” Miki sighed, her voice a mix of regret and satisfaction.

“Right? Gosh, that was ages ago!”

Airi smiled, then ate another mouthful of noodles before letting out an endlessly satisfied sigh.

“The yakisoba that day was really great, but you wanna know something?”

Miki was too shy to respond, but her ears perked up, nonetheless.

“I think this is even tastier!”

“R-really?”

Miki’s eyes widened, as if she’d just been told the most incredible thing in the world.

“Ehehe, maybe it’s just ‘cause I’m so excited about visiting the beach again. Might be making everything a little better. I bet if you tried some, we could figure it out together.”

“Well, if you need help…” Miki said, picking up her bowl and doing a terrible job of hiding just how eager she was to dig in.

As she took her first bite, though, any walls she’d been keeping up immediately crumbled.

“So gooooood!” Miki beamed,.“You were right, Airi! This is definitely better!”

“Right?!”

The felis grinned, her tail perking up as she smiled at her girlfriend.

“So glad I got it! I know we’ve got a long stay here, but there’s no way we could let the whole first day at the beach go by without any yakisoba, don’tcha think?”

“Yeah! It’s a staple!”

“And it tastes even better when we all get to eat it together,” Yui spoke up, approaching the two girls and taking a seat by her sister’s side, while Nonoka sat next to Airi.

“Talking about the volleyball incident?” Nonoka asked, with a smile. “Hey Miki? Remember how scared Airi got? Even though it hadn’t landed to her at all, she pounced up and hugged me so tight, I almost dropped all my noodles, too.”

“Ehehe, she was super cute!”

Miki’s smile was so warm that Airi couldn’t even begin to feel embarrassed in the slightest.

“But she’s gotten so much braver since then! I bet she wouldn’t even flinch now!”

“Mmm, she has,” Nonoka started, “but, I dunno, a fright like that? Might wind up with her latching onto you this time.”

“Siiiis! No way, I wouldn’t-” Airi pouted, starting to protest her sister’s light teasing before she was thoroughly disarmed by the feeling of Miki gently resting a hand on her head, then softly scratching at one of her ears.

“No fair, Mikiiii…” the felis murmured sleepily, nestling in against her girlfriend as all the fight completely left her body. “...It feels way too goooood…”

“It’s been so long, I was worried this wouldn’t work anymore!” Miki giggled.

Airi had always had this little weak spot, a sensitive ear that practically turned her into a kitten with how sweet and cuddly petting it always made her.

Still, she couldn’t keep at it for too long, or the poor girl would doze off right then and there. Lifting her hand, Miki smiled at Airi’s rapidly reddening face before happily going back to her food.

“Dirty trick…” Airi mumbled, too elated by how nice it had all been to protest any further.

Clearing her throat, she did her best to compose herself once more.

“S-so, you feeling any better, Miki? We were all pretty worried about you, y’know…”

“I think so, yeah,” Miki said with a smile. “I umm...I guess I still get pretty shy, so…”

“There’s no need to explain a thing,” Yui warmly replied, her hand gently patting her younger sister’s thigh. “You know, for all your talk of Airi being brave, I think you’ve become just as brave as her, honestly. Just a few weeks ago, if something like this had happened, I bet you’d have hunkered down in the hotel for the rest of our vacation.”

“Ehehe, I guess so…” Miki shyly giggled. “I just…

I wanna have fun with all of you. I really wanna make the most of this vacation.”

“Yeah! We all want that too, Miki!” Airi agreed, with a determined look in her eyes. “So, don’t worry about a thing, OK? No matter what happens, we’re all gonna be right here to pick you back up and help you smile again, got that?”

And, with that, the tension was broken, and the group ate their yakisoba together in earnest, their happy chatter mixing with their slurps.

“You know,” Yui whispered, leaning in towards Miki, “Nonoka has that same spot by her ear, too.”

Miki’s face reddened again, and she swallowed her noodles a bit harder than she’d intended, unable to manage more than a nod as her older sister giggled to herself before joining the conversation.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Airi whispered to Miki, having noticed her friend’s sudden embarrassment.

“I-I’ll tell you later…”

~~~

Airi lay on the bed in her and Miki’s hotel room, sleepily scrolling through her social media feed on her phone in an attempt to kill time. She’d have done something a little more engaging, but this late at night, everything else felt like a little too much effort. Besides, her mind was squarely focused on one thing, and one thing only.

_Is Miki OK? She’s been in the bathroom for a super long time…_

They’d been relaxing so comfortably together all night up until that point, but pretty much the instant Miki closed a game she’d been playing, she suddenly grew cagey and quiet, before gathering up something from her bag and rushing off to the bathroom without much more than a, “G-gotta use the bathroom, Airi!”

_Is she...still not used to her body?_

She winced at the thought.

_Guh, I’m being gross. It’s been weeks, she can use the bathroom just fine!_

_Maybe she’s...playing with herself?!_

She blushed hard at the thought, and was taken aback by a surprising warmth welling up within her at the idea.

_S-so what if she is?! Why the heck do I care?!_

_B-but, y’know, maybe she’s sick or something. It’d be rude not to at least...check up on her, right?_

_R-right. Yeah! I’m just...being a good girlfriend!_

Swallowing her shyness as best she could, Airi tiptoed over to the bathroom door, and listened carefully for anything suspicious.

She was greeted by the very soft sounds of fabric rustling, along with the occasional soft, shy whimper.

Whatever it was Airi was hearing, she at least didn’t think it was dirty. Determined to actually lend a hand, she softly knocked on the door.

“Ah!!!”

Miki let out a loud, startled yelp, which then got Airi to do the same as she hopped back a little from the door.

_Oh gosh, she totally was doing something dirty!_

“A-Airi?!” Miki called from the other room, her voice shaky and scared.

“Yeah! I-it’s me, Miki! Sorry if I scared you!”

“No, it’s OK…”

She heard Miki sigh, before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Ehehe, I guess I was just really surprised. I didn’t hear you walking around or anything, so…”

“Yeah, my bad, ahaha…” Miki apologized, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about how she’d snuck up to the door. “Just wanted to see if you were OK, y’know? I was worried all the food today made you sick.”

“Oh umm…

Nuh-uh, it’s not that. I actually think my tummy’s been much better since Kaguya’s. I haven’t had a single tummy ache or anything since then.”

Though she was clearly still embarrassed, there was a hint of happiness in her voice now.

“Gotcha! If you need anything, just let me know, OK Miki? I’m right here.”

“R-right. Actually, umm… Airi?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m n-not actually using the toilet or anything, so…”

Airi’s cheeks instantly reddened.

_She was playing with herself! Oh gosh, oh gosh!_

“I was...well…

I wanna show you, but…

You promise not to laugh, Airi?”

The poor felis felt like she was about to explode.

_Show me?! When did you get so bold, Miki?!_

“Y-yeah, promise!” she called back, hoping she hid the shakiness in her voice enough for Miki to not notice. “I love you a ton, Miki. I’d never even think about laughing at you.”

She heard the canis take a deep breath on the other side of the door.

“Right, yeah. Could you...close your eyes for a sec, Airi?”

“...Sure.”

Airi immediately complied, the heat in her cheeks not fading for a second.

Airi heard the door slowly opening, followed by the sound of Miki shyly stepping outside. A moment later, she started to speak again.

“You really, really promise you won’t laugh? No matter how weird I look?”

“Of course, Miki. I’m here for you.”

She reassured her as best she could, despite not feeling even the slightest bit calm.

“OK then,” Miki mumbled. “You can look.”

Airi shut her eyes even tighter for a moment, endlessly shy about what she was going to see, before slowly opening them up.

The heat in Airi’s cheeks reached critical mass.

She didn’t see anything half as dirty as the images she’d had in her mind, but, even so, it was more than sexy and sweet enough to almost send the poor felis over the edge.

As she looked over at Miki, dressed in a lacy, adorable, and incredibly sexy purple nightgown, nervously clutching at the hem with her hands, Airi knew that she had to be the most beautiful girl in the entire universe.

“So, h-how’s it-Oh gosh… How’s it look? Sis picked it out for me; she always goes for super girly stuff...”

Miki bit her bottom lip as the faint blush in her cheeks grew steadily more apparent.

_Oh, god, Miki, you just made it even sexier!_

Airi swallowed, hard, circling around her girlfriend to better admire everything.

“M-Miki…”

It was so stunning on her, as if it was made entirely with her body in mind. Every soft, gorgeous curve, from her full thighs, to her childbearing hips and wonderfully round butt, to her soft, heavy chest, looked nothing short of perfect from Airi’s increasingly thirsty perspective.

“Sis and Nonoka said you’d really appreciate it, a-and I really like it, but-”

“You’re so gorgeous…” Airi interrupted, now realizing exactly why Yui and Nonoka had insisted on getting their own room, though her words were barely more than a whisper.

“A-Airi?”

Miki paused, her expression shifting to a look of utter confusion.

“It’s so good on you, Miki. It’s so-You’re so beautiful in it that it friggin’ hurts. You’re always so cute and sweet and adorable that I wanna hug and squeeze you tight every chance I get, but that makes you look so sexy ,and mature, and just...so...so amazing, Miki! I love you so, so, so, so, so much!”

Declaring her love as strongly as she could, if not especially eloquently, Airi wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in a tight, warm hug, unable to stop herself from caressing the adorable canis just a little.

“You really think so, Airi?” Miki asked, her voice surprisingly devoid of shyness even as Airi gently cupped her butt.

“Of course I do! Gosh, did you see how nervous I got when I saw you in your swimsuit earlier?”

“Ehehe, I did, yeah,” she giggled, more than a little flattered.

“You looked so good then, and this is like that times a thousand, Miki! I’m just...I’m so lucky to have a girlfriend as sweet and beautiful as you, y’know?”

Airi couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, feeling more elated than she ever could’ve imagined.

“And I’m really lucky to have you, Airi!” Miki beamed, hugging Airi back warmly. “You always look so gorgeous, and...gosh, really sexy too. And you’re always working so, so hard to make me smile. You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

“Ahaha, jeez! You’re gonna get me all embarrassed!”

“You? I’m the one who should be!” Miki giggled, as the two pulled away from each other. “I really was until a minute ago! Frilly stuff still kinda scares me, but all that shyness is just...gone now.”

“Well, I hope you’ve learned a valuable lesson, then!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! You look great in everything and don’t eeeeeever have to feel scared! Not around me, Sis, Yui, or anybody!”

“I’m gonna try my best!” the canis said, wearing an absolutely adorable look of determination. “So, if it’s OK, I wanna try and wear this to bed now, Airi. I-it’s fine if it’s not!”

“Ahaha, Miki! What’d I just say?”

Airi grinned as she took Miki’s hand, and walked her over to the bed.

“I know, I know...”

Miki smiled softly, still blushing as she happily crawled under the covers alongside her girlfriend.

“Ehehe, you’re the best ever, Airi. You, sis, and Nonoka have all been so supportive. It feels kinda silly that I was so scared about...well, being me.”

“And we’re always gonna be.”

Airi snuggled in close to Miki, and wrapped her arm over her body. She couldn’t help but let out a warm, happy sigh as she enjoyed the feeling of her soft, cuddly figure.

“So, let’s have the best vacation we can possibly have, and when we get back to Onimichi, we’ll keep making every day warm and fun together. All four of us,” Airi suggested, her voice sweet and tender.

As Airi leaned forward to kiss Miki’s cheek, to really drive in her point, the canis turned her head to face Airi and planted a soft, loving kiss squarely on her lips, taking her completely by surprise.

Both girls completely lost themselves in the moment, enjoying each other’s warmth for a moment that felt like a blissful eternity.

“I know we will,” Miki breathed, smiling as she pulled back from the kiss. “Thank you all for helping me really live. Airi...I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Miki. But, magic or no…” Airi paused as she hugged her girlfriend lovingly, nestling up against her warm, soft body.

“...You did all the hard work yourself. You’re the strongest person I know.”

“Ehehe…” Miki laughed, gently rubbing at Airi’s hair, “I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I do. And it’s true,” Airi declared, poking her face up for another peck at Miki’s lips before returning to nuzzle against her.

Letting out a yawn, Miki continued to pet her girlfriend.

“But, I guess even the strongest person I know needs her rest every now and then,” Airi said, her voice every bit as sleepy-sounding as Miki’s yawn.

“Yeah...it’s been a big day,” Miki admitted, her eyes starting to droop.

Though neither of them could see it anymore, both of them were smiling, Miki’s chin resting on Airi’s head, and Airi’s chin resting against Miki’s bosom, each rising and falling in time with the other’s breathing, until the young couple enjoyed the first of many nights they’d get to spend together, just like this: warm and happy in each other’s arms.


End file.
